


Can't Hardly Wait

by nauticalparamour



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, OC, Post War, Time Travel, eighth year
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:20:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 45,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24554563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nauticalparamour/pseuds/nauticalparamour
Summary: Hermione and Adrian's son takes a tumble back into the past and is alarmed to find that his parents — Hermione, an eighth year student, and Adrian, sent by the Ministry to oversee the restoration of the Hogwarts library — seem to hate each other. This just won't do.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Adrian Pucey
Comments: 215
Kudos: 241





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome! I am really excited to be writing my first Adrian x Hermione. I have been writing Adrian as a side character for a while now, so I hope you like him in a more starring role. This will be about 22 chapters, and I hope to update 1-2 times a week. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter one and be on the lookout for chapter two in a few days!

Hermione Granger, returning eighth-year student, had thought that coming back to Hogwarts would be an excellent idea. Of course, she had been offered her diploma by the Ministry in exchange for her role in bringing down Voldemort the year before, but it just didn't feel right to accept it without really _earning_ it. And even though she was sure she could sit the NEWTs and pass that summer, Hermione wasn't ready to walk away from her final year at school. She didn't want any suggestion that she was simply handed something that she didn't deserve. As a muggleborn, she had too much to prove.

She couldn't lie...she had expected Harry and Ron to do the same, only to be disappointed by her best friends. It seemed that both of them were keen to join the auror department, not having had enough dark wizard chasing the seven prior years. It hurt to know that they wouldn't be joining her - after all, they had done practically _everything_ together up to that point.

Shaking off the hurt, Hermione quickly decided that it was going to be a good thing for her to return to Hogwarts sans Harry and Ron. For once in her life perhaps she would be seen as an individual and not merely Harry's friend. She would be forced to make some new friends, spread her wings. It would be a good thing, she told herself resolutely as she packed up her trunk.

But, once she was back in the castle walls, the luster quickly wore off. For one, Ginny had been made Head Girl. Hermione tried really hard to be happy for her friend, but she could not deny that it stung that she was passed over because she had been too busy looking for horcruxes the year before. Ginny was an excellent choice, but it didn't make up for the fact that Hermione _should_ have been Head Girl the year before. It was just another thing that Voldemort had stolen from her.

Second, she was the only girl returning to Hogwarts for an eighth year and was therefore given her own room in Gryffindor Tower. She supposed that Headmistress McGonagall had thought that it would be a kindness, but it was hard for Hermione to be reminded of her former classmates who were no longer there. She missed Parvati and Lavender more than she cared to admit, and she loathed returning to a quiet, empty room each and every night.

Not that she would want to bunk with the seventh year girls, though. That would just be odd.

The next slight was something that Hermione was finally forced to acknowledge. She just wasn't very good at making friends. No amount of celebrity status could make up for the slight socially awkward behavior she had. She never _quite_ knew what to say to people and even though she _knew_ that she could come off as brusque and judgemental, she was never able to tamp it down. Sure, she'd had a good chat with Daphne Greengrass _once_ , but it wasn't as if they were best friends now, braiding each others' hair at sleepovers.

Her loneliness was only further compounded by the fact that Harry and Ron just couldn't seem to keep up with letters. She knew that they were busy with Auror training, but surely they could manage to write to her _once_ a month? They had even promised to come out on Hogsmeade weekends, but they had yet to actually make it up to Hogwarts. Hermione had thought that she wouldn't miss nagging them to study, but she would give all the galleons in her bank account to have them asking her to read over their Charms essay just one more time.

_Pathetic_.

It would all be okay if what she was learning was stimulating, but she hadn't been wrong. She could literally do all of her assignments in her sleep and she was months ahead in every subject. She'd asked for some advanced materials in arthimancy and ancient runes, but she was pretty sure she had reached the limits of her Professors' good will.

All of this made her wonder what the point of coming back to Hogwarts was. To prove herself? To who? To what end? Couldn't she have just completed a self-study and then sat the NEWTs with everyone else? She could be halfway to a mastery at this point.

But the absolute worst thing about coming back to Hogwarts was not her lack of friends, loneliness, or lack of intellectual stimulation. No, it was Adrian Pucey, who seemed to have made it his mission to be a permanent thorn in her side.

Pucey, former Slytherin, had been two years ahead of her, so she hadn't really taken much notice to him. In fact, the only thing that she knew about him was that he on the Quidditch team and played Chaser. He was part of a trio of Slytherin Chasers who were particularly prolific and Ron had gone on rants about them more than once that Hermione was subjected to.

She was surprised to see him back at the school, knowing that he wasn't back to repeat classes. During the Welcoming Feast, Headmistress McGonagall announced that he was back to oversee the restoration of the Library for a part of his apprenticeship. Hermione had frowned, knowing that he would be lurking around in the library, but she knew that he must care enough about books if the Ministry had appointed him for this special task. If they stayed out of each other's paths, she saw no reason why they should have any issues.

Except they did have issues.

Pucey seemed to make it his life's mission to pick an argument with her every time she was in the library. And, even though Hermione _tried_ to be the bigger person, she just couldn't let it go. He could argue with her about anything, and recently it had been the "aggressive way that she turned pages."

Looking at him, she never would have expected him to be so fussy about books. Godric, _she_ was particular about books, but Pucey took it to a whole new level. He looked like a jock with his surprisingly broad shoulders, but it turned out that he was just a big secret nerd underneath it all that lean muscle. Not that she was looking.

So, it was unsurprising that on a random January day, Hermione found herself in the library, arguing with Pucey once again, over a book that she wanted to borrow to use as a reference for her Potions essay. Had she written it twice already? _Yes._ Did it matter? _No_.

How was it that he always seemed to be in whatever aisle she was currently browsing? She wasn't sure, but all that mattered was that he was in between her and the third edition, rare copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore. She had been ready to take it back to her room when Pucey came out of nowhere and snatched it right off the top of her pile.

"Hey!" she cried out, annoyed that he would do that. "I was going to check that out."

"No, you aren't," he countered, his voice dismissive and disinterested. "This book is not prepared yet for general use."

"Hippogriff _shit_ , Pucey," Hermione cursed back at him. "You've been done with this section now for weeks no. Don't think I've forgotten about the last time that you banished me from this part of the library."

Because Hermione really didn't want to interfere with his work if he was restoring the Hogwarts Library. It was an important thing to do, and it did seem like he was doing a good job, just...why did he always have to single her out? Didn't he know her reputation? She kept _excellent_ care of books...just, she sometimes had a habit of holding on to them longer than was strictly allowed...

"Well, like it or not, what I say goes, and I say that this book is not ready for circulation yet, Granger," he said, puffing out his chest. "In any case, this is a standard book that all _second_ years should have. Just go and read your own copy."

"But the third addition has a special section on aconite that isn't included in any of the others," Hermione whined, hating that she was reduced to practically begging, but she knew that she wasn't going to get the reference that she needed anywhere else. "Please just give me the book, Pucey."

He looked at her, his brown eyes simmering with _something_ she couldn't identify, making her think that maybe, just maybe, he might be persuaded to see reason this time. But then he shook his head. "No, maybe in another month or two, but this book is just too precious for me to let you walk out of her with it."

Hermione let out a little noise of frustration. "You are a tyrant, Pucey!" she shouted, uncaring if Madam Pince would scold her for talking in the library. Perhaps she would be able to get him to see reason.

Before her nemesis could even open his mouth to argue with her once again, though, there came an unholy crash maybe two or three rows over. Hermione made eye contact with him, her eyes widening in concern. "What was that?" she whispered to him.

"I don't know," he answered, equally concerned and with his eyebrows furrowed. "But I am going to find out." He turned on his heel and began striding down the long row of books to get to the end so that he could determine the source of the clatter.

Hermione felt a smirk slip onto her face as she rushed to follow after him. Damn him and his long legs - she was practically forced to jog to catch up with him. Once she got to his side, she looked up at his worried face out of the corner of her eye. "Hopefully you didn't mess anything up and knock over a stack with your restoration methods," she quipped, thinking that it would be a little bit of karma if he got in trouble.

"And you would like that, would you, Granger?" he snarked back. "Priceless and irreplaceable books being further damaged by some unfortunate accident? And here I thought that you were one of the few people in this school who actually appreciated them."

She scoffed at that, thinking that it was the closest thing to a compliment that Pucey had ever rewarded her with. And of course, she didn't actually want any books to be harmed...just, it would be nice to see him squirm every now and again! She hated being treated like a child with sticky fingers who ripped pages. "Of course not, Pucey," she argued back, affronted. "You know how much I love books."

As they rounded the corner, they were surprised to see a boy, perhaps no older than Hermione was, standing in the middle of the aisle, looking around confused. It didn't take a long assessment of him for her to realize that she didn't recognize him, although there was something _familiar_ about him.

He was tall, nearly as tall as Adrian, with slightly wavy brown hair and unremarkable brown eyes. He wore a Slytherin tie around his neck, but the uniform that he had on was nothing like the uniform that she'd worn while a student at the school.

"Excuse me," Pucey said, authoritatively, crossing his arms across his chest. "Who are you and what are you doing? How did you get into Hogwarts?"

The boy looked bewildered and spooked, looking at the pair of them rather like a deer in headlights. He shoved something into his pocket, cagey as ever. When his gaze finally settled on Hermione, feeling like a heavy weight, his eyes widened in surprise. "Mum?" he asked, in a sharp inhalation of breath.

"What?" Hermione said in response, curious as to what he was playing at.

Before she could get an answer out of him, his eyes were rolling back into his head and the mysterious stranger was dropping to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"Oh Godric!" Hermione called, moving to rush to his aid.

Pucey's arm shot out to stop her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, feeling a little bit hysterical. Didn't he see that the young many needed help?

"Do you know him? He seemed to recognize _you_ ," he added, accusatory. Pucey always seemed to expect the worst out of her, didn't he?

Hermione slipped under his arm so she could get to the stranger's side. "No, but it's obvious that we need to get him to the Infirmary," Hermione argued back. "He's _obviously_ unwell. Now, are you going to help me with levitating him there or not?"

It did not take Pucey long to waffle and before long, he was using his wand to aid her in lifting the surprisingly heavy stranger. They walked to the Infirmary in silence, their argument over the book as of yet unfinished.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I was not expecting so much Adrian love :D You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter two and be on the lookout for chapter three soon!

Hermione had been unable to get the mysterious stranger that had appeared in the library out of her mind since she and Pucey had left him in the care of Madam Pomfrey. He had still been unconscious when they had left him there, and she was left with more questions about him than she could imagine reasonable explanations for.

Most importantly, she had not forgotten that he had called her mum.

Reasonably, she knew that she should just let it go, but deep down, she knew that she wouldn't be able to until she got some answers. The morning after, she didn't have a class after breakfast, so instead of heading to the library, she headed off in the direction of the Infirmary, intent on getting them.

She was glad to see that the stranger was still there, sleeping in one of the beds along the wall. The rest of the room was empty, so Hermione crept forward quietly, hoping to get a good look at him. On a second look, she was disappointed to realize that he didn't have some defining characteristic that would tip her off to who he was. His hair was light brown, bordering on blond, and it had just the suggestion of a curl in it. His nose was straight and fit his face well.

But, she still couldn't shake off the feeling that he was familiar somehow.

Before she could ponder it much longer, she jumped in shock when his eyes suddenly opened, staring right at her. She pressed a hand to her galloping heart. "Merlin, you scared me," she said.

The young man cracked a smile. "You frightened me, too," he quipped. "I wasn't expecting to wake up to someone inspecting me."

Hermione felt herself flush. It _was_ pretty rude of her to be staring at him, especially if he was asleep and didn't know. "I'm sorry," she said in a rush. "I just wanted to make sure that you were doing okay. I don't know if you remember, but I was one of the people who found you in the library. Madam Pomfrey wasn't able to give us an update last night."

"Then I owe you my thanks," he said, before sitting up better in bed, pulling the covers with him. He was no longer wearing his unusual Slytherin uniform, and instead was in one of the regulation nightgowns that you were required to wear in the Infirmary.

"It was no trouble. I'm sure that you would have done the same," she said, only she wasn't sure _why_. Why should she know that he would have done the same? He could be a horrid person.

A beat of silence hung between them.

Hermione was unable to resist filling in the space. "So, did Madam Pomfrey tell you how you are?" she asked.

"She thought it was just a shock," he explained. "That the surprise of my unintentional appearance in the library was too overwhelming. Nothing is wrong with me, and even my head didn't sustain any damage from the fall."

"You called me mum," she said, biting her lower lip, wondering what he was going to say.

"I apologize for that - you certainly _aren't_ my mum," he said with a grin. "My vision was a little bit blurry when I arrived here, and as I said before, I was a bit confused. I don't know why it just slipped out. A bit like calling your professor mum, I suppose."

Hermione thought that sounded perfectly reasonable, if she was honest. Of course, there was no way that he could be her child - she was only nineteen after all! But then she quickly realized that she hadn't even introduced herself to him.

"I'm Hermione, by the way. Hermione Granger," she said, sticking out her hand to offer him a shake. "So rude of me to not introduce myself earlier."

His eyes widened for a minute, before he smiled widely at her. "Pleased to meet you Hermione Granger," he said, taking her hand in his. "I'm Max. Max Puuuu-er. Max Purney."

Hermione found his behavior a little bit cagey, but she was sure that he was still just adjusting after...whatever it was that had happened to him. But, what did happen to him? "So, how did you end up in Hogwarts? I know that you aren't a student here. Where did you come from?"

His easy-going smile fell at her questioning. "Um, unfortunately, I've been instructed not to talk to anyone about particulars until I am able to speak to the Headmistress," he answered. "Sorry that I can't be more forthcoming at this time."

"Oh, I understand completely. Headmistress McGonagall will know exactly what to do," she replied, knowing that it was perfectly reasonable. Though, she could admit that it didn't stop her curiosity one bit. "I hope that you'll be able to share some information with me soon, though."

"Maybe you could give me some information," he said, his eyes dropping to his hands in his lap. "About the guy that you were with in the library."

Hermione snorted, unable to help herself. "Oh, Pucey?" she asked. "What do you want to know?"

"Who is he?" Max questioned, eager to hear whatever she had to say on the topic.

"Adrian Pucey," Hermione explained. "He's not a student here, although he did graduate a few years ago. He's working on behalf of the Ministry to oversee the cleanup of the library, after the war, you know?"

Max nodded, looking rather like he did know what she was talking about. "So he works for the Ministry then," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, not exactly," Hermione said. "He's working on a mastery, actually, and this is his apprenticeship. The Ministry had to send someone, I suppose. I am sure that they are getting cheap labor out of him. It's a big job."

"You really seem to know a lot about him," Max quipped, a little smile on his face.

Hermione felt horrified that Max might think she was in some way _interested_ in Pucey. "Oh no," she told him. "He and I don't really cross paths at all. The only reason I know so much is that he is so very rude about his purpose here, and he is always being a real pain in my arse about letting me borrow the books that I want."

"That's what you two were arguing about?" he asked, incredulous, watching her face for a reaction. "Books?"

She flushed once again, thinking that it seemed a really petty thing to argue over when he put it that way. "Well, yes," she said, looking out the window. "He wouldn't let me borrow a book that I _needed_ for a Potions essay. He thinks that it's far too fragile for someone to take out of the library, but he should also know that if there is anyone who would understand that it would be me!"

Max tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't hold it. He cracked a smile at her expense.

"Sorry, I'm really passionate about...about books," Hermione added, lamely, knowing that it sounded odd. But, it was the truth, and she wasn't going to pretend as though she didn't care about them.

"Well, Pucey must be too," Max countered. "You have that in common."

Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes. "No, I don't think that he does particularly care for the books," she said darkly. "I think he knows just how much it irritates me, and so he likes to pick fights just to frustrate me."

Maybe she had been approaching the situation with Pucey all wrong, she thought, now that she was talking out loud about it. Perhaps if she didn't get so upset with him, he wouldn't go out of his way to prevent her from borrowing books.

When she looked back up, Hermione realized that Max was frowning at her. "What is it?" she asked.

"You and Pucey really don't like each other do you?" he asked, almost seeming disappointed in her. "The argument wasn't just a one-off."

Hermione shook her head. "No, we certainly are not friends. I wouldn't say we _hate_ each other, but..." she trailed off. "But it's really sweet that you are so concerned about it. Don't worry, though, I can hold my own in arguments against him," she added, before pressing her hand to his hand. She didn't need Max to go after Pucey just because they argued occasionally.

"I'm sure you can," he answered, but he didn't sound too convinced. She knew, though, that he didn't know her, not really. He might not know her reputation.

"Anyway, I should really be running to class," Hermione said. "Hopefully you can get everything straightened out with the Headmistress."

Max nodded. "Yeah, it's time for me to be getting up anyway," he said. "So that I can go talk to her. I hope that I'll see you around again."

Hermione hoped that she would as well. Even though she didn't really know him yet, she did want to talk to him again. She still hadn't gotten to the bottom of where he came from, just winking into existence in the middle of the Hogwarts library. Hopefully the next time that they spoke together, he would be able to tell her a little bit more. "I'm sure I will," she said brightly, before turning to leave for her first class of the day.

She wasn't really able to focus in Transfiguration, too busy mulling over what they had talked about. Maybe things with Pucey had really gotten out of control. Perhaps they had just gotten off on the wrong foot?

But then Hermione only dug her heels in more. Pucey had absolutely _nothing_ to hold against her. They had never interacted until this year, and as far as she knew, he didn't have a family member who was a Death Eater who she might have dueled or put in Azkaban. Pucey seemed to have all sorts of impressions about her and he obviously let them color their interactions. It was _him_ that had started the arguments and so she wasn't going to let him tell her what to do, it wasn't right!

With that decided, Hermione went off to lunch in the Great Hall. She looked around for Max. It was undeniable that he was wearing a Slytherin uniform, so it was obvious that he was a student...at some point. Had he come from the past or the future, she wondered? Or maybe he was a first year who had some sort of accident with an aging potion and didn't want to tell her his real name out of embarrassment?

In any case, a niggling little feeling of suspicion took root inside of her. Max had been very friendly and nice to her, but she was left feeling like she shouldn't trust him at all.

"Who are you looking for?" Ginny asked, having taken the seat next to her.

"Oh, um, no one in particular," Hermione lied, hoping that she could get her friend onto another topic. She didn't want to have to explain Max to her, especially not when he hadn't spoken to Professor McGonagall yet.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked, saucily. "You've been looking up and down the Slytherin table for like ten minutes now. Is it Pucey?"

Unbidden, Hermione's eyes darted down to the end of the table where her nemesis was sitting by himself, eating alone. He didn't even talk to any of the seventh years, probably feeling a bit too disconnected from them because of the age gap. He might even be lonelier than she was, Hermione mused.

"Pucey," Hermione said, with a shrug of her shoulders. "Why would I be looking for him?" she asked, turning to face Ginny.

Her redheaded friend hid a smile and looked down at her plate. "Maybe it's because he's basically all that you talk about these days?" she asked.

The words didn't really sink into Hermione's head, though, as she was too busy observing Pucey now that he'd caught her attention. She wondered if he'd even bothered to check up on Max yet. Probably not, considering the way he'd floundered the night before.

"I'm just...he wouldn't let me take another book," Hermione finally said to Ginny. "That man...he's insufferable. He dares to question my treatment of library books, when he is constantly carrying around _heavy_ stacks of books? Just to, what? Show that he's strong? It's pathetic."

Ginny smirked at her. "Whatever you say, Hermione," Ginny placated her. "Whatever you say."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! We've got some Max POV in this chapter. I know many of you are eager for Hermione and Adrian to interact again, and they will...in a little bit :) You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter three and be on the lookout for chapter four in a few days!

People often said that Max Pucey got both of his parents intelligence and none of their diligence. It was a pronouncement that he frequently found annoying, but now that he had fucked up so spectacularly he wondered if maybe there wasn't some truth to the matter. He was sure that neither of his parents would have ever been so stupid as to end up over two decades in the past.

It was an accident, though, and now there was nothing to do but deal with it and fix things.

Max had been horrified that things had gone so wrong with his experiments, but he was even more disturbed to be found by the two people responsible for his birth. Salazar, he never expected to run into his mum and dad, and seeing them looking so _young_ had made him pass out. It was embarrassing.

After his mum - Merlin, his _mum_ \- had left him in the Infirmary alone, Max had called for the matron so that he could be released to the Headmistress. He didn't really know what to do, but he hoped that she would be able to give him good advice as his mum had promised. The matron had agreed to let him go after a thorough check, but only after extracting a promise that he would return if he began to feel even a little bit light headed.

Max agreed and got the password to the Headmistress's office.

Minerva McGonagall was waiting for him when he got there. She was no longer the Headmistress when he was in school, but he knew all about her from stories that his mum had told him and his siblings when they were growing up. He knew that his mum had been a bit of a favorite to the woman, so hopefully she wouldn't be too furious with Hermione Granger's son.

"Good afternoon," Headmistress McGonagall said, with a frown. "I'd like you to explain who you are and how you got here. As I am sure you are aware, apparition into the castle is impossible."

Max wouldn't argue with her there, having tried it several times in the past to get out of sticky situations and being disappointed every time. "It's a pleasure to meet you Headmistress," he said, putting on his best behavior. "My name is Max Pucey and you are correct that I didn't apparate into the castle. The truth is much more complicated."

Headmistress McGonagall simply raised her eyebrow at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Clearly, she did not play around.

"I'm actually from the future," he explained, running his hand across the back of his neck, hoping to stave away a headache that was beginning to form. "I had a little bit of an accident, and I've ended up here."

"An accident?" she asked, sounding like she didn't believe him for a second. "What sort of an accident?"

"Well, I was trying to make a time turner-"

She cut him off with a disbelieving sputter. "What do you mean _making_ a time turner? Surely you don't have the magical skill necessary," she argued.

Max felt a little bit offended. Yes, it was _advanced_ magic, but he'd always been advanced in his studies. He'd had an interest in time magic since his mum had told him about using a time turner to complete her studies. His dad always teased her for using a time turner for something as boring as completing more classes, but Max knew that she'd used it to save a hippogriff, too. That had always been one of his favorite bedtime stories growing up.

"I assure you that I do have the skill, because I've successfully traveled time," he said sharply. "Although, I obviously got some calculations wrong because I'm at least twenty years in the past," he added sheepishly, knowing that it was his hubris that had gotten him into this situation.

"How do you even know how far in the past you are?" she questioned, drawing her lips into a disappointed frown.

"Because, I might have umm...run into my parents?" Max said, casually, hoping that McGonagall wouldn't be too disappointed in him. He obviously realized how dangerous those kind of interactions could be, but he would be careful. Although, he'd already messed up twice, calling his mum 'mum' and almost telling her his last name. Salazar, he couldn't imagine what a disaster that would be.

"Adrian Pucey, I presume," Headmistress McGonagall said, looking him over, as if she was trying to figure out who made up his other half. "And your mother is?"

Max wasn't sure if he should tell her, but eventually decided to be honest, in the hopes that she would help him. "Hermione Granger," he said.

He could hear her exhale sharply in surprise. "Well, I can't say that I saw that coming. They are certainly _not_ friendly with one another," Headmistress McGonagall said, thinking it over. "But I can't say that I'm shocked by it either. Well, Mister Pucey, what are we going to do with you?"

"Well, I've already told my mum that I'm called Max Purney," he said, looking at his feet. "Slip of the tongue. But I've avoided giving any other details."

Headmistress McGonagall was _not_ impressed by his flimsy cover story. "Well, we must count the small blessings then," she said with a frown. "You will stay here until we can figure out how to get you back to your proper time. I will have to alert the Ministry of Magic."

"Oh please don't do that, Headmistress," Max practically begged. That would _not_ help him at all, and he didn't fancy getting in trouble with the Ministry. He could only imagine the problems it would cause when he _did_ return to his proper time. "Please just give me a chance to figure it out on my own first. I'm sure I can do it. And, I've got the time turner and everything - it's not damaged."

She looked him up and down, weighing his trustworthiness, before deciding. "I will give you a few weeks to figure things out on your own," she said with a frown. "But then I will have to let the Ministry know, and there will be consequences for not alerting them sooner.

It wasn't what he would have picked. Max would have preferred if he could have all the time in the world to try and figure out his time turner. But, from the stern look on Headmistress McGonagall's face, he knew that it was an argument that he wouldn't be winning. He would just have to take what he could get. "Deal!" he said brightly.

"This isn't a negotiation, Mister Pucey," the Headmistress said, making him feel rather silly.

"Of course not," he agreed, not wanting her to change her mind. "But I am sure that I will get it sorted out in a week or two. I've been researching time turners extensively."

"You sounded so much like your mother just then," she answered, a tiny smile on her face. Max was pleased to see that he was right, and could only hope that his mum's favored status would continue to work in his favor.

"Thank you," he answered with a charming smile. "That is quite a compliment coming from you, especially. My mum has always held you in high regard, Headmistress."

She gave him a knowing look then. "And then you sounded very much like your father, Mister Pucey," she said, shaking her head a little. "You are certainly well suited to Slytherin."

Max felt a little embarrassed, upset that his charm offensive had backfired. But, then, he supposed that she'd been a Professor for a long time, and it was likely difficult to get anything past her. "Yes, Professor," he answered, chastised.

"We will inform the staff that you are a visiting student from one of the local schools, here to observe different teaching methods," she proclaimed. "I will arrange for you to have a room in the staff quarters."

"And am I to be confined to the grounds?" he questioned. "There might be something that I need from the village or from London."

The Headmistress thought about it for a moment, before making her decision. "I will allow you free reign of the school, but only if you inform me of your comings and goings," she answered. "I can't have you out in the public causing havoc!"

"Of course, I'll be very respectful of the privilege," he said, already considering taking his first trip to Hogsmeade that evening. He could really use a firewhiskey after coming face to face with his parents. That was a mind trip that would disturb any wizard. "I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

"Mister Pucey!" she replied sharply. "You are making me very nervous with this altar boy routine."

Max blushed, having been caught so easily. Merlin, just what had his father gotten up to when he was a student? "Sorry," he said. "Don't worry, I'll figure out the time turner and then I will set up my parents and then I'll be out of your hair."

"Excuse me?" she asked. "You will absolutely not interfere with your parents. If I thought it was a possibility I would ban you from speaking to them at all!"

"You don't understand," he countered. "I've been here for less than twenty-four hours and it is quickly becoming clear that my parents are not interested in one another. Yesterday, they were arguing in the library rather loudly when I arrived. Then, when my mum visited me this morning, I got the sense that she didn't think very highly of my dad. And even you have said that you wouldn't see their relationship being possible."

"Be that as it may, they obviously do end up together, seeing as you are here," Headmistress McGonagall argued. "I simply must insist that you do not stick your nose into problems that don't exist."

"With all due respect Headmistress, I am very concerned. My parents said that they fell in love at Hogwarts," Max countered. "And there isn't much time left in the school year. I fail to see how the future I came from could have sprouted from this past. But I would very much like to be born, so I need to ensure that they end up with one another."

"Mister Pucey, please listen to me," she said. "Your parents ended up together the last time around _without_ your help. Surely, they didn't mention some mysterious matchmaker that showed up."

"No they did not," he agreed.

"So, then we can know that they will figure out their romance _without_ your help," she explained. "Let this happen naturally. Please don't try to fiddle with your parents' lives. You might end up with a future that you don't recognize."

Max gave her a tight smile. Of course, he knew how dangerous it could be, having so much contact with them. But he also felt that he couldn't just leave this to chance. His parents were _meant_ to be together, and he just needed to help them figure it out. Maybe their argument in the library had led to some break through last time, and he'd ruined it by winking into the past? There were simply too many unknowns.

But he also knew that Minerva McGonagall was never going to see things his way. She was a Gryffindor after all.

"I understand," he placated her. "I will just have to trust that things will work out the way that they did."

But, Max had absolutely no intention of doing that. He would just have to get to the root of the problem and then help them see that they were perfect for one another. He was sure it wouldn't be too hard to figure out.

"I'm glad," she said after a beat, as though she didn't quite believe him. That was smart. "Alright...Mister Purney. I will show you to your quarters for your stay here."

She stood from behind the desk, and led him towards the spiral staircase.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am so glad that you guys are enjoying Max - this one has Adrian in it and then next chapter we will get a bit of Adrian and Hermione again. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter four and be on the lookout for chapter five soon!

Adrian was walking back from dinner when he ran into Headmistress McGonagall with the young man that he and Granger had _rescued_ from the library the day before. He hadn't really thought much of the other wizard up until that point, having been knee deep in research for his mastery all morning.

He wondered what business they would have here in the staff quarters, but he was not obvious enough that he would let his curiosity be noticed. He knew there were other ways to get the information you wanted rather than just gawking at them, drawing further attention to yourself.

Instead, he retreated to his own quarters, the portrait of a wood nymph swinging in a tree greeting them when he gave the password. Once he was inside, he pressed his ear to the door, straining to hear any sort of noise.

He could hear the Headmistress vaguely explaining the concept of the portraits and their passwords. Was the young man going to be staying here then, he wondered? If he was honest, that piqued his interest even more than him just appearing in the library. He was far too young to be a professor and Adrian was sure that he didn't recognize him at all. Why would he be allowed to stay here?

McGonagall and the wizard entered what he figured out was the room right next to Adrian's, but the walls were very thick stone, and unfortunately, Adrian couldn't hear anything else being discussed.

Instead, he retreated to his bedroom to remove his cloak and tie. Unbuttoning the top of his shirt, he returned to his sitting room, lighting the fire in the fireplace and pouring himself a measure of firewhiskey. He intended on unwinding for the evening, maybe reading through the most recent edition of Quidditch monthly, or reviewing his law books. It was hard for Adrian during the week, isolated in the castle without a way to hang out with his friends. Normally, he would be out at the pub with Marcus or Cassius, but now he was rarely able to convince them to come all the way to Scotland on a weeknight. It led to many boring nights in.

Before he could even get settled on the settee, though, he was hearing a knock at his portrait door. Narrowing his eyes, Adrian stood up and made his way to the entrance. When he swung the door open, he was surprised to see the strange wizard smiling widely at him.

"Hello!" he said brightly. "You're Adrian, right?"

Taken aback, Adrian wasn't sure _why_ the wizard was being so friendly with him. It put him on edge. "Yes, I'm Adrian Pucey," he confirmed, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And you are the wizard that appeared in the library."

"Yes, I'm Max," the other wizard introduced himself. "I just wanted to say thank you for helping get me to the hospital wing. Rather embarrassed that I passed out."

Adrian was not used to being thanked for things, especially something that he wouldn't have really helped with if Granger hadn't just twisted his arm. "Yeah, no problem," he answered, cautiously.

The two of them stared at one another for a moment, before Adrian realized that this Max wasn't going to go away. "Would you like to come in?" he asked, finally. If he was going to be forced to socialize with him, he would at least do it sitting on something comfortable and with his drink in hand.

"I thought you'd never ask," Max answered, climbing through the portrait hole quite eagerly.

"Whiskey?" Adrian offered, though he already went to pour one. He handed it to Max, before sitting back down on the settee. He looked over the other wizard and found that there was something oddly familiar about him, though he couldn't quite put his finger on where he might know him from. There was nothing too remarkable about his looks, though he was tall for a wizard. "Do I know you from somewhere? Who is your family?"

Max hid a smile behind his glass. "I don't think we've met and I doubt that you'd know my family," he said, though there was something about his amusement that put Adrian on edge.

"What did you say your last name was?" Adrian questioned.

"I didn't, but it's Purney," Max explained. "I'm from a school in Kenmare. Not good enough to go to Hogwarts, myself, but I'm the best in my class. They sent me here for a few weeks to observe the teaching methods."

Adrian was a little bit aware of the county schools that dotted the UK, but he'd never heard of this kind of an exchange program with Hogwarts. Maybe it was a good thing though. He'd long thought that it was unfortunate that so many witches and wizards never got the opportunity to have the kind of top notch education that Hogwarts provided.

"Kenmare?" he asked, noting the other wizard's complete lack of an Irish accent. "You must like the Kestrels then?"

Max's eyes widened a bit in shock. "Oh, um, no not really," he answered, unsure of himself. "I'm more of a Falmouth man myself. The Kestrels have been trash for so long, there's almost no point in following them."

"But they just won the Cup six years ago," Adrian countered, thinking that was an odd statement to make. Of course, they weren't historically good, but they weren't trash either.

"Oh, well, six years seems like such an eternity at this point," Max waved him off. "In any case, I prefer the Falcons. My dad brought me up on them."

Well, Adrian supposed that they had that in common at least. "Falmouth is my favorite team as well," he told the other wizard. "They weren't always, but my buddy Marcus plays chaser for them, so it's hard not to support them."

Max's smile grew infinitely larger, and Adrian groaned internally. Merlin, he hoped that Max wasn't some sort of Flint fanboy, or he'd never hear that end of it.

"That would be really cool - to have a friend who played professional Quidditch," Max said. "You must be able to get tickets whenever you want."

"Yeah, he can get really great seats too, to home games," Adrian explained. "Normally, a few of my other friends from Slytherin will go to games, but I haven't been able to make it out to many while I've been stuck out here at Hogwarts."

Max nodded in agreement. "Yes, it must be really difficult to be so far away from your usual set up," he agreed. "Hermione told me that you were here for some Ministry project."

Adrian couldn't stop himself from snorting. Of _course_ Granger would have already sought out the wizard, wanting to be such a perfect representative of Hogwarts. It was so typical of her to be such a do-gooder, it really got under his skin. "I'm sure that she didn't have anything nice to say about me," Adrian said. "But I would take everything she says with a grain of salt. She's a Gryffindor after all."

"She said that the pair of you argue about books," Max explained. "It was suggested that you don't allow her to remove books from the library because you enjoy bothering her."

He shook his head, wondering at the audacity of the witch. As if he would do anything solely to bother her. "Well, Granger certainly has her opinions on things," he said, charitably. "I'm meant to be repairing the library after the battle last year. It's my job to ensure that the rare books don't become more damaged than they already are."

"So...you don't let her borrow them?" Max asked.

Adrian stood up so that he could pace back and forth in front of the fire. Obviously, Max just wasn't understanding what he was saying. "Of course I don't," he said. "But it's not as if I do it to annoy her. I assure you, I do not care about Hermione Granger enough to do something just to vex her."

Max looked down into his glass, which was nearing empty. "It seemed like Hermione really liked books," he said, sounding confused. "And she seemed trustworthy enough. I bet she would take care of the rare books."

"She's such a swot - she probably loves books more than her own friends," Adrian said meanly, letting some of his repressed frustration with the witch bubble over. "And while she could probably be trusted not to damage the books, there can be no special treatment, even for a witch like Granger. She's skirted the rules for years, and it's annoying to the rest of us who don't get those kinds of privileges."

The other wizard's frown deepened even further, and Adrian thought it was odd. Granger must have made a huge impression on him if he was getting upset on her behalf. But, Max also needed to learn the truth. Granger got a pass from all their Professors and the Ministry, too. It was irritating that just because he was a Slytherin he was held to a different standard.

"That's unfair," Max said finally. "Hermione was so nice as to visit me in the Infirmary, to check and see if I was okay. I think that she is probably really close with her friends."

"Potter and Weasley?" Adrian asked, rolling his eyes. "They are even worse and have been skating through auror training without the necessary qualifications. They've left her up here to fend for herself."

Max drank the rest of what was in his glass. Adrian offered him another pour, but he declined.

"It sounds like she might be lonely then," the younger wizard said with a frown. "Same as you. Perhaps if the two of you put your animosity behind you, you could be friends with one another."

 _That_ made Adrian laugh out loud. The thought of him and Granger even being friends was just too ridiculous to consider. They had absolutely nothing in common with each other, and she got on his nerves. He was sure that the feeling was mutual. Granger wouldn't lower herself to befriend a Slytherin. "That's a bit of a pipe dream, mate," he said. "Listen, I don't know why you want Granger and I to bury the hatchet, but it's just not going to happen. Neither of us like each other and neither one of us _wants_ to like each other."

It was bad enough that Adrian had to see her basically everyday in the library, standing on tiptoe with delicate fingers reaching out to grab a book. He didn't need this unknown wizard to come swanning into his life and telling him that Granger was a great witch, when he knew the truth.

Max, however, looked utterly distraught at his pronouncement that he wasn't friendly with Granger, and really, it just struck him as odd. Why did he care so much who Adrian was friends with?

It was clear that their conversation had reached its natural conclusion, and Adrian walked the other man to the door. After saying that they would see one another around, he let the portrait close behind him, unable to shake the suspiciousness of Max Purney off. There was clearly something that was not right about him. Too many things were not adding up, and if he was honest, it made Adrian's hair stand on end.

He hadn't explained how he'd gotten into the library in the first place, and he'd never heard of an exchange with a local school. But, Headmistress McGonagall _had_ been the one to show him to his quarters, so she must at least know more about the mysterious wizard. And then there was this apparent obsession that the other wizard had with him and Granger. It was off-putting to say the least.

Realizing the time, Adrian sighed and returned to his room, knowing that he wouldn't get anything done that evening, for fun or for his mastery. But even as he was tucked in bed, he couldn't shake off the worry that something was going on with Max. He wasn't sure what it was, but as long as the other wizard gave him a wide berth, Adrian decided that he would try not to let it bother him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I am glad you guys liked Adrian's POV. We will be jumping between the three of them for the rest of the story. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!
> 
> Also, sorry for the tiny snafu with the last chapter -- it looks like I posted chapter four two times. I've replaced the second with the correct chapter five. Hopefully it's fixed now!
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter five and be on the lookout for chapter six soon!

Hermione was not about to let the most interesting thing that had happened so far that year slip through her fingers. The non-explanation that she'd gotten from Max had captured her attention and she was not going to rest until she got the full story about the wizard who had just appeared in the Hogwarts library.

She hadn't seen him since she'd spoken to him in the library, despite looking for him every day. He didn't join the other students at lunch, and so far, Headmistress McGonagall had not made a general announcement about who he was, or why he was at the school.

When she couldn't wait any longer, Hermione finally cornered her former Head of House to demand some answers. She intercepted her on a Saturday morning, after breakfast.

"Good morning, Headmistress McGonagall," she said, hoping the sounded innocent enough.

"Good morning, Miss Granger," the older witch answered, before raising an eyebrow. "What are you fishing for now?"

Hermione was taken aback. "What makes you think that I am looking for anything at all?" she questioned. "Perhaps I just wanted to walk with you in pleasant conversation."

The Headmistress smiled. "Because, Miss Granger, you wear a particular look on your face when you want something from me," she answered, sounding fond and slightly sentimental. "That, and you made an absolute beeline for me when I left the Head Table."

The Gryffindor flushed at being caught so obviously. People always told her that her face was easy to read. "Well, as it so happens, there was something I was wondering about," Hermione said, her eyes darting to the ground in front of her. "Max Purney? I visited him in the Infirmary, but I haven't seen him since. Is he still at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, he is being housed in the staff quarters," McGonagall answered.

"Oh, well, I just wanted to see if he was still doing alright. He had quite a fall in the library," she lied. "What is his purpose at Hogwarts, if I might ask?"

McGonagall turned to face her. "Mister Purney is a visiting student from one of the local schools," she explained. "He is just here to observe for a few weeks, to see if he can bring any of our teaching methods back."

"Oh," Hermione said, with a furrowed brow. "I didn't even realize there _were_ local schools."

"They aren't large, but there are several scattered around," McGonagall said. "Unfortunately, Hogwarts does not have the capacity to teach every witch or wizard across the UK."

"Of course," Hermione said, her mind whirring away. Was there some sort of entrance process to being admitted to Hogwarts that she didn't know about? "It was just so strange, it almost seemed like...well, Max was wearing _some_ kind of Slytherin uniform when he showed up, but nothing like one I've seen before."

McGonagall shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose that even the students who don't go here might have some kind of affinity for certain houses. Perhaps it's related to the Quidditch matches," she explained.

That was not very convincing to Hermione at all. How would someone who wasn't at Hogwarts even follow a Quidditch team at the school? It wasn't as if they published scores in the paper, and the school didn't even allow spectators outside of the students, professors and Board of Governors.

"So you were expecting his arrival?" Hermione asked, unwilling to let this thread go just yet. There was something...not _right_ about Max, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. "I just thought he made an unusual entrance. How did he get to the library in the first place?"

The Headmistress was quiet for a beat or two. "We _were_ expecting his arrival," she said. "Although he came about a week earlier than we were expecting. That probably explains how he wandered into the library...he must have just been looking for my office and ended up there."

Hermione was about to question the woman more, but McGonagall quickly turned away. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Granger, I have a poltergeist to deal with now," she excused herself.

The talk with McGonagall had left Hermione feeling incredibly unsatisfied with her explanations. The Headmistress was not very convincing and Hermione was left suspecting that there was more to Max Purney's story than met the eye. Worse, she felt like Headmistress McGonagall _knew_ more and just wasn't telling her.

It was vexing to say the least.

After that very unsatisfying talk, Hermione went to the library. Yes, it was the weekend, and most of the students would be lounging around common rooms, playing games and hanging out, but Hermione still didn't quite feel comfortable hanging around with them. Even her old Gryffindor friends like Neville and Ginny...too much had happened in the year that she was on the run with Harry and Ron, and she just couldn't quite connect any longer.

Besides, Pucey didn't work on the weekends, so she hoped that she might actually be able to get some work done without being harassed. She didn't care for being accused of _breathing_ on the books wrong. The idea was so preposterous, she almost couldn't argue with him about it.

Grabbing a well read copy of _The Goblin Treaties of 1245_ , Hermione went to her favorite little reading nook on the mezzanine level. The seat had a great view of the path down into Hogsmeade and at this time of day, the sunlight was perfect for reading.

Settling into the bench, Hermione sighed and looked outside. It was a very pretty day, even though the sunlight belied how cold it was. She didn't fancy braving the frigid wind just for a bit of sunshine, knowing that the warmth it provided wouldn't win out. Stretching her legs out in front of her, Hermione opened the book in her lap and began reading.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there before she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Looking out the window, she gasped when she realized that Max was walking down the path towards the little village. Snapping her book shut, she propped herself up on her knees, hands pressed to the cold glass while she watched him. Just what could this odd new wizard be doing leaving the castle, she wondered?

Biting her lower lip, Hermione briefly thought about following him. Maybe she could get to the bottom of what was _off_ about him, if she figured out what he was doing. If she left now, she might be able to catch up with him still.

But then, she dismissed that out of hand, knowing that she wasn't allowed to leave the school grounds herself, unless it was a Hogsmeade weekend (a policy that truly rankled, seeing as she was a legal adult and had technically graduated Hogwarts already!). Briefly, she considered using one of the secret passages, before she remembered that they had all been sealed up after the war. The passage behind the one-eyed witch had, unfortunately, even caved in during the fighting.

 _Merlin_ , if only she was a bit more reckless still, she _knew_ she would be sneaking out of the castle after him.

"What are you doing?" a sharp voice asked behind her.

Hermione whirled around, pressing her hand to her heart, her leg knocking her book to the ground. " _Godric_ , Pucey, what's wrong with you?" she hissed. "Why are you always lurking around and intent on frightening me?"

He sneered, before bending down to pick up the book. "I wasn't sneaking around," he insisted. "And maybe I have to keep a special eye on you if you insist on throwing books around."

She rolled her eyes, hopping down from the bench. "You know that was an accident, and if you hadn't scared me I wouldn't have dropped it," she countered, pressing her hands to her lips. "Besides, aren't you off work today? I think you can leave the superior attitude at the door."

Pucey looked a bit amused. "Unfortunately, protecting the library from you seems like a job with no time off, Granger," he said, before his attention was also caught by the man walking down the path. "You accuse me of lurking, but here you are _spying_ on some poor wizard. Who is it anyway?"

He entered the small nook with her, his shoulder bumping against hers. Hermione had to bite her tongue before she said something truly rude about him taking up space with his broad shoulders and impressive biceps. Honestly, he hadn't played Quidditch in years, who did he think he was fooling?

"It's the wizard that we found the other night," Hermione said softly. "Max. Looks like he's headed to Hogsmeade."

Pucey peered out of the window, before his jaw tightened in annoyance. "Swooning over him already, Granger?" he questioned, trying to be mean.

Hermione recoiled, realizing that she found the idea of swooning over Max to be deeply unsettling. Of course, she could objectively confirm that he was handsome and his smile was quite nice, but there was something about him that made her uncomfortable. "No!" she said, emphatically, hoping to clear up any ideas Pucey might have about her and Max.

"Don't put up too much of an argument," he said with a derisive snort, making it clear that he didn't believe her. "I can't say that I'm surprised you'd go after the first new wizard to waltz in here, now that all your friends abandoned you here."

She was upset with his words, but she knew that there was some ounce of truth to them. "I knew that I'd be returning here alone," she said, almost trying to convince herself as much as Pucey. "It's only for a few months, and then I'll return to London, and everything will be the same as it always was."

"Except Weasley and Potter will have all sorts of new experiences that they bonded over during the last year. Experiences that don't include you," he said. "So I don't imagine you'll just go slotting right back into their friendship. Weasley's probably already got a new girlfriend."

Hermione flushed. "Ron and I are _not_ together, and I don't care if he dates someone else," she insisted, knowing it was the truth, but unsure why she cared that Pucey knew there was no lingering flame between the two of them. "And I'm _not_ interested in Max either. Merlin, Pucey, you care more about my love life than _Witch Weekly_ ," she added with a laugh.

Pucey's cheeks flushed a bit pink, perhaps embarrassed at being called out for being interested in who _she_ dated. Hermione was certain he couldn't care less who she kissed, but rather just wanted to be mean about her lack of boyfriend. "Well, if you aren't interested in him, then why were you watching him?" he questioned.

She bit her lower lip, unsure if she should open up to him. "I'm not sure," she said finally. "I just thought that it was odd that he was going to Hogsmeade, that's all. After all, Headmistress McGonagall said he was a visiting student, so I didn't realize that he would have privileges to go to the village. Especially when it's not a Hogsmeade weekend."

He turned to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed together, considering _something_. "Your book, Granger," he said eventually, before pressing the copy of _Goblin Treaties_ into her hands.

Hermione looked at the book dumbfounded, while he exited her window nook and turned to leave. "Wait!" she shouted after him. "Aren't you going to tell me that I'm not allowed to take this one of out of the library?"

Pucey fought the smile on his face as he turned to look at her. "You were right - I'm off work today," he said. "But if I don't see it back on Monday, we will have words." Then he turned away, leaving her to stare at his retreating form.

She felt an odd swoop in her stomach at his promise of an argument and she was left wondering if she was actually looking forward to the interaction or not.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! We are back with Max this chapter. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter six and be on the lookout for chapter seven soon!

Things between his parents were much worse than Max had initially thought. When he'd stumbled on them in the library arguing, he thought it might be a one-off or a temporary disagreement. Talking with his mum had been the first tip off that they might not be in the best of terms.

But then talking to his father...oh Salazar, Max never could have imagined the amount of animosity that he seemed to hold for his mum! He didn't have a single good thing to say about her. It left Max feeling like there wasn't _any_ hope that they would end up together, as Headmistress McGonagall had promised they would.

And that simply would not do.

Max _very_ much enjoyed being alive, and he wasn't going to let his parents' stubbornness get in the way of it. Not to mention, he was sure that his sisters and brother would appreciate it, too.

He'd already planned on nudging them in the right direction, but now he was more certain than ever that he was going to have to get a little bit more involved than just gently prodding them into realizing that they were perfect for one another. That they were meant to be together. And he knew that this wasn't something he could handle on his own.

The Adrian Pucey that he talked to did not resemble the wizard that he knew as his father, and so he was going to need some inside information from someone who did. First thing in the morning, Max made a visit to the owlery, borrowing a few school owls to send quick messages to his father's friends. Then he went to visit Headmistress McGonagall to let her know that he would be heading into Hogsmeade for the day.

The Headmistress had looked a little suspicious of his true purpose in going out to the village, but not enough to question him further. Max was glad for it, though, and headed down to the Hog's Head around lunch time.

He waited in one of the back booths, hoping that his father's friends would actually show up. At the very least, their interest should be piqued. It was the weekend...what better did they have to do but to come and talk to the mysterious wizard who'd written to them?

It was a little bit after their appointed meeting time when Marcus Flint, Cassius Warrington and Graham Montague rolled into the dingy little pub together. Max lit up immediately, having known them practically his whole life. It was good to see some more familiar faces, even if they appeared to be much younger than he remembered them.

The trio of former Slytherin Quidditch players did not seem as enthused to see him though. "Who the fuck are you?" Marcus Flint asked. "And why did you call us all the way out here?"

"I'll explain on the condition that you not tell anyone about our discussion," Max said, holding his wand down by his side. "I would hate to have to obliviate you."

Cassius snorted. "Let's get out of here," he said, not liking the way Max was talking to them one bit. "I'm not about to be threatened by a scrawny little school boy."

He turned away from Max, and Graham and Marcus seemed game to follow as well. Worried that he'd overplayed his hand, Max ran around in front of them, holding up his hands to stop him. "Wait, I can explain," he practically begged. "I'm Max...Pucey, and I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I'm Adrian Pucey's son."

Graham laughed at that. "You are right," he answered. "That does sound ridiculous."

Luckily, though, his words seemed to convince Marcus. "Wait a second, he does look a bit like Ades, doesn't he?" he asked, grabbing Max by the jaw so that he could turn him to the side. "I mean, he's not an exact clone, but they've got the same eyes and hair...same face, same build."

"Tell us something about Adrian that only we would know," Graham prodded.

Max thought, trying to think of something that his dad would have told both him and his friends. "Um, he broke his nose when he tried to kiss a witch in his sixth year, he said. But he blamed it on a Quidditch injury," he finally offered.

Cassius couldn't stop the smile from his face then. "Daphne Greengrass," he said with a smirk. "That _was_ a funny one."

Feeling that they were finally believing him, Max felt himself relaxing. "Will you please come back to the table?" he asked. "I really need your help."

The three of them looked between each other, having some sort of silent conversation, before they agreed to stay. Graham went off to the bar to bring a round of drinks, while the others slid into the booth next to him.

"So, if Adrian is your father, who is your mother?" Cassius asked, peering at his face, trying to identify the unknown witch from his looks, but he came up empty handed.

"Hermione Granger," Max said, simply, not expecting too much of a reaction. Marcus nearly spit his beer halfway across the table though when he said it, leaving him feeling utterly confused. "What is it?"

"It explains a lot," he said with a laugh, while Graham pounded him on the back. "Especially you threatening to obliviate us. I should have recognized the haughty tone."

Max felt his face flush, and wondered what his mum had done to deserve this kind of reputation. All three of them were quite fond of her in the future, even though they didn't always see eye to eye on things. Maybe he hadn't gone back in time at all...maybe he'd gone to some kind of parallel universe.

"Well, go on then, tell us what you need help with," Graham prodded.

He wasn't really sure where to start. "As you may have guessed, I had a mishap with a time turner and I've ended up back here," Max started.

"Granger," Cassius teased, with a smirk on his face.

"Anyway, Headmistress McGonagall has given me a limited amount of time to return to my own time, but I don't feel like I can leave in good conscience when things are in their current state," he explained, running his fingers around the rim of his pint. "You see, I've only talked to them a few times, but it's becoming _very_ clear to me that my parents do not seem to like one another."

"Well, you are still here, so they must end up together, right?" Graham questioned. "Otherwise you would have just winked out of existence."

Max rolled his eyes at him. "Honestly, you sound just like Headmistress McGonagall," he said. "It's obvious that my presence here is the _only_ hope for them to end up together. If I were to leave, who knows what kind of future I would return to...if I would at all!"

Again, they did that annoying thing of sharing a look, as though they knew something that he didn't. "Okay, what have you seen that makes it so hopeless for the two of them?" Marcus asked.

"When I first got here, they were arguing in the library," he explained.

"A common occurrence, I hear," Cassius quipped.

"Yes!" Max said in agreement. "So, you know then. They have so much animosity between the two of them. Mum was quick to explain that my dad is always picking arguments with her over books, just to annoy her."

"Oh, we've heard all about it," Graham agreed. "Granger and her books are just about the only thing Adrian will talk to us about these days."

"I'm not surprised," Max agreed, glad that they were able to see the issue at hand. "Because when I talked to him, he had absolutely nothing good to say about her. He seemed to think that she was expecting special treatment or something ridiculous."

"He can certainly wax rhapsodic about her," Cassius added.

The overly verbose comment from Cassius caught Max off-guard, but he continued. "But, I can tell that they have so many things in common, and they are obviously well suited to one another," he said, frowning into his pint. "I just don't understand why they can't see it."

The three of them started laughing at his introspection, as though he'd just told the funniest joke they'd heard.

"What?" Max asked, feeling offended.

"Please, can I tell him?" Marcus asked, looking at the other two wizards for confirmation. Once they gave it, he could barely hold back his glee. "We just can't believe that you can't see what's right in front of you...just like Adrian. He clearly has the biggest crush on Granger."

Max felt utterly dumbfounded. It seemed to defy everything that he'd seen so far. "What?" he repeated, needing some clarification.

"Salazar, he's obsessed with her," Cassius smirked. "If I have to hear him talk about how the sunlight hits her hair one more time...or how it's really not as bushy as it was when we were kids, I think I might just tell him myself."

"Think about it kid," Graham said.

Max disliked being called kid, seeing as they were really not much older than he was, and Graham certainly wasn't as tall as he was, but he wouldn't argue with them at this point.

"He goes out of his way to talk to her everyday," Graham continued. "He's just too thick to see that it's because he _enjoys_ talking to her, rather than him needing to scold her. I bet he hasn't scolded any other student while he was there."

"But, he just complained about her so much," Max said, feeling a bit stupid. Were they reading more into it than him? He supposed he should listen to them...he had figured that they would know this version of his dad better than he did, but he wasn't sure that they really knew what they were talking about.

"You've only just talked to him about it the one time," Marcus assured him. "If you talk to him five times, he is going to find a way to bring up Granger every time, and make some kind of complaint about her looks. Just you wait."

"Huh," Max said with a frown. "Well then, I think it's obvious what I have to do...I need to help him realize that he's just attracted to her, and taking it out on her because he can't face the truth. Maybe I should lock them into a broom closet together."

"Don't be ridiculous," Cassius answered. "That won't convince Ades of anything...he is going to have to come to the realization on his own."

"Besides," Graham added. "We have no idea if _Granger_ likes him back either."

 _That_ was an excellent point, one that Max hadn't really considered yet. He was now hopeful that maybe the sparks of attraction really were taking hold in his father, but he had had no indication that it was returned...and why should it be? If his dad was being nothing more than a total jerk to his mum, she had basically no reason to like him. She thought that he wanted nothing more than to annoy her.

"Well, how do I _make_ him come to the realization on his own?" Max wondered. This was not something he could simply leave to chance. He wouldn't feel comfortable leaving until he knew his parents had acknowledged their feelings for one another.

"Well, maybe she could make him jealous," Marcus suggested. "If she was with someone else, maybe he would realize that Granger was going to slip between his fingers."

"That is a great idea," Max agreed, nodding. They were going to need more beer for this, though. Hopefully the trio would be able to suggest the person most likely to make his dad snap. "And we need to brainstorm how to make him treat her nicer. She is never going to like him if he is a jerk."

"I think Granger won't be too much of a problem, either," Cassius said with a smirk. "She has a type, and even if she wouldn't admit it, Adrian fits the bill."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I am so glad you like my little Slytherin trio and their schemes. We are back to Adrian POV in this chapter. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter seven and be on the lookout for chapter eight soon!

After his unusual chat with Granger in the library, Adrian couldn't get the idea of how odd it was that Max would be allowed to walk down to Hogsmeade Village alone. Granger had mentioned it casually - maybe just to distract him from the fact that she _had_ been spying on Max.

He still wasn't sure if he could believe her that she hadn't been watching Max because she was interested in him, but he was sure he didn't want to examine why that irritated him so much.

Even if it hadn't been her reasoning, Adrian _did_ find it odd that Max was allowed to go to Hogsmeade at all, especially when the eighth year students could not. Surely the Headmistress could not have okayed this? And just what was Max doing in the village?

Fortunately for Adrian, he _was_ exempt from the rule that kept students in the castle unless it was a Hogsmeade weekend, and he was able to come and go as he pleased. Sometimes he even went down to the Three Broomsticks for dinner, just for some different scenery where first years didn't openly stare at him in confusion, wondering just what his purpose at Hogwarts was.

It had taken him approximately thirty seconds to decide to follow Max into the village and get to the bottom of his purpose there. After all, he had been so very eager to be friends the other night in Adrian's apartments...surely, he wouldn't mind some company in the village as well.

Stopping by his rooms on the way out, he grabbed his walking cloak and headed to the grand staircase and then out the door. It was a cold day, but sunny, so Adrian didn't hurry on his walk, content to breathe in the briskness. It was a nice change from the stuffy old castle.

The village was quiet without students milling about, so Adrian peeked into a couple of likely places that Max might be. He wasn't at the Three Broomsticks, nor had Rosmerta seen him. He wasn't at Tomes and Scrolls or Honeydukes either. Adrian was nearly out of places to look when he remembered the Hog's Head down at the other end of the village. He almost didn't go there because someone unfamiliar with Hogsmeade was unlikely to stumble upon it. Still, he knew that he had to check, or he'd be regretting it the rest of his days.

The Hog's Head had been an old haunt of the Slytherin Quidditch team when Adrian had been a student because Aberforth Dumbledore didn't seem to care too much about legal drinking age. Adrian's feet carried him in it's direction without thinking. Even if he came up empty handed, he knew that he could at least grab a pint for old time's sake.

To his dismay, though, when he walked into the dingy old bar, he was not met with silence that would have been typical for that time of day, but rather four rowdy voices laughing and chatting away. Adrian's eyes narrowed when they settled upon his three friends - Marcus, Cass and Graham - sitting at a table with none other than Max! The bloody traitors!

Just how did they come to know one another, Adrian wondered? Suddenly, the mysterious wizard who'd shown up at Hogwarts seemed far more sinister than Adrian had initially considered.

Walking over to the table, he made his presence known immediately. "What the fuck is this then?" he questioned. "You can't come visit me for months and then I find you here at the Hog's Head with this guy? You couldn't send _me_ an owl if you were going to be stopping by Hogsmeade?"

Cassius waved his pint in the air, halfway drunk already. "Oh, you know Marcus had a little bit of a problem with the floo. Said the wrong place, and so we went and followed him," he explained, waving to the barkeep for another round.

"And then we decided, oh we might have a couple of pints while we were here for old times sake," Graham explained. "We were going to owl you, to let you know to come down, but it looks like we got a little carried away," he said, punctuating it with a hiccup.

"Pull up a chair, Ades," Marcus encouraged with a smirk.

Adrian did as he was bid and took a welcome drink of the beer that was placed in his hands. "And, Max, you just happened to stumble out here?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't know that you were permitted to leave the castle."

Max looked guilty. "Please don't tell Headmistress McGonagall," he nearly begged. "I said I was going to the village to purchase some potions supplies, and I just wanted to have a pint while I was here."

There was something about his story that didn't quite add up, but Adrian wouldn't question it more, not then at least. Maybe he just didn't really have permission from the Headmistress.

Leaning forward, Adrian pressed his arms against the table. "So what were you guys talking about?" he asked, eager to hear what they would come up with. "It seemed like you were having a laugh when I came in."

Marcus looked at Max and then at Adrian. "Oh, we were just talking about Granger," he said.

"Yeah," Cassius agreed. "Apparently Malfoy is looking to get it in with her. He mentioned it to Graham when they ran into one another over Yule break."

Adrina recoiled at the suggestion. Malfoy was one of the handful of eighth year students who had come back that year, and he seemed to have his hand perpetually up Astoria Greengrass's skirt. The thought that he might try to get with Granger was...bringing up some uncomfortable feelings for him. Feelings he couldn't quite identify.

"Why would he do that?" Adrian wondered out loud. Privately, he hoped that Malfoy wasn't just trying to mess with her. Although he didn't particularly _care_ for Granger, he thought that it would be pretty cruel (and in Malfoy's playbook) to make her think that Malfoy had real feelings for her, sleep with her, and then abandon the poor witch. He didn't want to see her hurt.

Cassius shrugged his shoulders. "I sure as hell don't know, but who cares?" he asked.

"You remember what Malfoy was like during Quidditch," Marcus said with a grin. "Maybe he finally realized that his constant complaining about her was really just a hard-on for her."

Adrian nearly choked on his beer at that statement. The thought of Malfoy, with his ferrety face, slobbering over Granger was just...too much to bear. "Please, you are putting me off," he said quickly. "I'd rather not think of it."

"Just because _you_ don't like Granger, doesn't mean that other people don't," Max piped up from his spot in the back.

He found that to be a rather odd statement. Why was Max so obsessed with what went on between him and Granger? "I'm not suggesting that they can't," Adrian said, with a frown. Although he'd really rather Draco Malfoy _didn't_. "But I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh, are you jealous?" Cassius teased. "Granger only goes for Quidditch players. You probably have a shot if you want it."

"Yeah, I mean, I don't really know how you'd follow up after Krum," Marcus said with a shrug. "But I am sure you'd be a vast improvement over Weasley. He was barely even a real keeper."

"Did she _really_ date Krum?" Max asked, sounding fascinated. "He's such a good seeker."

"Yes, for the Yule Ball," Adrian said, absentmindedly, remembering the odd relationship between the Bulgarian man and Granger that had formed while they were at school. He had always wondered how genuine it was - or was Granger the only person who treated Krum like he was a normal person.

"Oh, they dated that whole year and afterwards, too," Cassius said, eagerly. "Apparently she even stayed with him in Bulgaria for a summer."

"How do you even _know_ that?" Adrian wondered, knowing that Cassius was a terrible gossip.

"Witch Weekly," he said with a shrug. "Apparently, he still holds a candle for her, but she just isn't really interested in anything more than friendship."

Privately, Adrian thought that was smart. They obviously lived in different countries, and even with improved transportation, it would be difficult to have a close relationship. Krum was unlikely to give up Quidditch and after school Granger would probably move to London to work at the Ministry...

Granger would be wasted not having a job and instead just serving as a WAG for the tabloids to salivate over.

He snapped back into the conversation when Flint began talking about Granger's legs. While Adrian couldn't dispute that she had very nice legs - typically tantalizingly displayed by her school skirt...leading him to wonder what she had on under that skirt (not that he'd admit it) - he was not about to sit here and listen to his friends talk about her for hours. He slammed what was left in his beer glass and stood up.

"If you lot are just going to spend the afternoon talking about Granger, I'm going to head back to the castle to do something more interesting," he announced, standing from the table.

"Oh, don't go yet!" Max called at his quickly retreating form.

It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He was beginning to feel like Max was _obsessed_ with him. Seeking him out that first night had been understandable, but to find him at the Hog's Head with Adrian's three closest friends made him even more unsettled. Coupled with the fact that he couldn't seem to stop talking about Granger and what he thought of her...

Something about Max Purney was not right. And he was going to get to the bottom of it.

But, Adrian knew that he wouldn't be able to do it on his own. When he got back to the castle, he made a snap decision and instead of returning to his own quarters, he diverted his path up the stairs to the seventh floor. He stopped when he got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and knocked on it.

It took a moment, but eventually the portrait swung open and revealed Ginny Weasley. "Pucey. What can I do for you?" she asked, sounding a bit suspicious.

It was understandable...he really had no reason to interact with any students, especially not when he wasn't in the library. "Um, I was wondering if you could go get Granger for me?" he asked, suddenly questioning his great idea. This might be a terrible idea, especially if Granger didn't share his suspicions.

But then he remembered how odd she found Max heading to Hogsmeade to be.

Weasley squinted at him for a moment, as though she was trying to figure out his motives. But then she shrugged her shoulders. Turning her head, she shouted back into the Common Room as if she was on the Quidditch pitch. "Hermione! You have a visitor!"

It didn't take long for Granger's head to pop out of the portrait hole. Her pretty brown eyes widened when she saw it was him. Stepping out of the door, she shut it behind her, obviously wanting to keep their discussion quiet. "What do you want, Pucey?" she asked, looking adorably confused. "I promise I will bring the book back by Monday morning. I don't need a reminder."

Adrian felt a little bad that she thought he was coming to berate her over a book. "Actually Granger, I was wondering if we could talk about our mutual... _friend_ , Max," he said, casually. "There is something about him that just doesn't really sit right about his situation with me, and I wondered if you might...feel the same."

He held his breath, waiting for her to just say something. Eventually, she gave him a tiny smile. "Alright, Pucey, where to?" she asked.

He returned the smile. "Let's just start going this way. I promise to have you back before dinner," he said, before heading off in the direction of the astronomy tower, hoping that they wouldn't cross paths with the mysterious wizard.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Adrian sought out Hermione...now let's see how they get along. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter eight and be on the lookout for chapter nine soon.

If she was honest, before she had her talk with Pucey, Hermione had been feeling exceptionally _bad_ for being so suspicious of Max. It was most likely the case that he was nothing more than a nice boy from Kenmare who was here to study at Hogwarts for a few weeks, exactly as McGonagall had said. The odd feeling that she got when she was around him was probably nothing more than an overactive imagination, looking for _anything_ interesting to happen that year.

But, the fact that Pucey _also_ felt that odd unease when he was with Max (especially enough that he was willing to seek _her_ out)...well, that gave Hermione pause.

She had been nervous to walk with Pucey away from the Gryffindor common room, having never really spent time actually talking with him before, but willing to hear him out. She had been surprised to learn that he had followed Max into Hogsmeade to see what he was getting up to. Hermione was briefly annoyed that Pucey could come and go from the castle as he pleased, but kept that to herself. It obviously wasn't his fault that Headmistress McGonagall wouldn't give the eighth years more latitude.

Hermione waited with bated breath, staring up at Pucey's face while she waited to hear just _what_ Max had been doing. Spending time with Pucey's friends was not something that she would have ever expected, but she could agree with him that it was troubling. She told him that their flimsy excuse about happening upon each other at the Hog's Head after a floo mishap didn't add up.

The tension that Pucey carried in his shoulders seemed to melt away when she made it clear that she agreed with him.

"It makes me a bit uncomfortable if I'm honest," he revealed to her, in a moment of vulnerability. "Almost as if he was trying to _replace_ me. But it's not as if I have a monopoly on my friend's time."

Hermione was reaching out and giving his hand a squeeze before she'd even realized it. "I'm sure your friends aren't trying to replace you," she tried to reassure him. Then she blushed, worrying that she might have overstepped her bounds. She dropped his hand, feeling as if he'd burned her.

After their little heart-to-heart - that she was sure Pucey would deny if she ever mentioned it - he asked if she would agree to get to the bottom of who Max really was and what his real purpose at Hogwarts was. Hermione readily agreed, wondering just what was going to come out of the odd partnership that she had created with Pucey.

At the very least, certainly he'd be more lenient about her checking out books from the library, right?

Wishing him a good evening, Hermione and Pucey parted ways with plans to talk in the library should either of them find any interesting information. Hermione then turned to make the lonely walk back to Gryffindor on her own, her mind whirring with plans to seek out Max the next day.

The following morning, Hermione spent breakfast catching glances at the Slytherin table where Max had taken to eating. It appeared that he had befriended Draco Malfoy, which she supposed was probably mutually beneficial for the two wizards, seeing as they likely didn't have one or the other.

Unfortunately, it seemed that her glances were not as subtle as she thought because Ginny noticed immediately. "Uh oh, do we need to tell Pucey that you've moved on to other wizards?" she asked with a teasing tone in her voice. "I thought that you guys might have finally talked about your feelings last night."

"What?" Hermione asked, distracted and not really hearing Ginny's words. "I'm not interested in spending my time dating wizards, Gin. I want to focus on my NEWTs and do well. Then I can work on my love life."

"If you took your NEWTs today, you'd still get Outstandings on all of them," Ginny promised. "Besides, I don't think that having a cheeky snog or two this year would be that distracting. And Pucey is easy on the eyes."

Hermione returned her attention to her new reluctant partner, really _looking_ at him for a moment. He did have the most wonderful jawline of any wizard in the school, and there was something about the slight smirk he always seemed to wear that made her heart skip when it was focused on her. "I suppose he's passable," she said, uncomfortable with this line of discussion. Did she find Pucey attractive?

"Passable?" Ginny asked with a snort. "The number of times you've talked about how strong he is, carrying off loads of books. I _know_ you're into his arms at least."

She blushed, realizing that she rather did pay a lot of attention to the size of Pucey's biceps. "I just don't understand why..." she trailed off, clearing her throat guiltily. "He doesn't play Quidditch anymore and it just..."

Ginny couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. "Who would have guessed? Hermione Granger likes Quidditch players," she teased. "I should have guessed - Krum, Cormac, hell, even my brother."

Hermione was growing increasingly flustered. "I, I don't know what you are talking about," she stammered, though she could admit that she had something of a track record, now that it was brought to her attention. Was there really anything wrong with finding the build most Quidditch players had attractive?

Luckily, at that moment, Max was standing up from the Slytherin table and Hermione was able to pull herself out of the embarrassing conversation, though it would certainly require some introspection later when she was alone. "Sorry, Ginny, but I just remembered something that I have to take care of," she said as she popped up from the table, not wanting to lose him so quickly.

Ginny made some quip about taking care of her crush on Pucey, but Hermione didn't hear any of it, too focused on catching up to Max. She knew that she would have to stay several paces behind him so as not to alert him to her presence, but she wanted to stay close enough that she could see what he was up to.

If he did notice her following him, though, Hermione quickly decided to put on the air of just being friendly. He was new to Hogwarts, afterall, and he probably needed someone to show him around. She would just have to be that person for Max, and get more information out of him...like what he was up to in Hogsmeade with Pucey's friends.

She followed him down towards the dungeons and worried that he might be headed to the Slytherin Common Room, somewhere that she highly doubted she would be able to get in. Was that where he was staying, she wondered? Did he even have the password?

Turning a corner a bit too zealously, Hermione nearly ran into a suit of armor and her surprised little exhale of breath caught Max's attention. She barely had time to duck back into an alcove before he turned around and caught her red handed. Pressing her hand to her chest to calm her wildly beating heart, Hermione wished that she had the Invisibility Cloak to sneak around with.

Bitterly, she remembered that Harry _had_ offered it to her when she returned to Hogwarts. But, she had to be so _noble_ and told him that she wasn't going to be doing any sneaking around this year, so she wouldn't need it. Godric, how she wished that she had it to nip out to Hogsmeade occasionally. She shouldn't have been so proud and just taken her friend up on the offer.

Maybe she could write to him now and ask him to send it.

It probably wasn't worth the I-told-you-so's, though.

Besides, she was doing just fine on her own. Once she was sure that Max had returned to his walk, Hermione slipped out of the alcove and once again started following him. She had to walk fast to catch up with him, but eventually she did.

When they nearly made it to the Slytherin Common Room, Max abruptly switched course, turning instead for a secret staircase that even she had never known about before. That was a bit peculiar, she decided. How was Max, a supposed outsider, better able to navigate the castle than her? She'd been sneaking around for seven years at this point, and had read _Hogwarts, A History_ more times than she could count. She thought she'd known every staircase to get from one class to another.

Biting her lower lip, she waited for him to get up a flight of stairs before following after him. With a silencing spell placed on her shoes, she hoped that he wouldn't be alerted to her footfalls as she followed him up the stairs, only to come out near the Charms classroom. Frowning, Hermione lamented how much time she could have saved if she'd known about the stairs sooner. Maybe someone from Slytherin had tipped him off to it, she mused.

But, it seemed that Charms was not Max's intended location either. He stood outside of Professor Flitwick's door for a few seconds, before doubling back the way that he came. Hermione was nearly caught once again before she ducked into an empty classroom, leaving the door ajar so that he wouldn't be able to hear her shut the door behind her.

He walked right past the staircase that he had recently emerged from, and this time his path was clear. Max was headed to the library.

Hermione let out a sigh, and wondered if perhaps she _was_ being too suspicious about him. Maybe he really had just gotten lost on his way to the library and he was struggling to navigate the castle. Perhaps he just needed someone to show him around, and there was nothing nefarious going on at all.

Walking normally now - Hermione could excuse them running into one another as a trip to the library herself - she trailed him, wondering just where he would go once he got inside the library. Was he studying anything whilst at Hogwarts, she wondered? Did his school have a library like the one at Hogwarts? She doubted that.

As she was making the final turn towards her favorite room in the whole castle, though, she was shocked to not see hide nor hair of Max. It was as if he had just...disappeared.

Frowning, Hermione _knew_ there was no way that he could have gotten into the library in the time it took her to make the turn. The hallway was too long. And there was nowhere else for him to go _but_ into the library. There were no classrooms or broom cupboards in this stretch of the school, and none of the tapestries hid any secret passages.

"Max?" she called out cautiously, wondering where he could have gone to. She looked behind each set of armor that lined the hallway, but didn't see him. Max really had just disappeared.

Suddenly, all of her thoughts about him being innocent and turned around flew out of the window. It almost seemed like Max was apparating in and out of the castle, which anyone knew was impossible to do. But how _else_ could she explain the way that he had popped into the library and popped out of the hallway right then.

Groaning, she couldn't believe that she'd lost him in less than an hour of following. Something told her that she wasn't going to cross paths with the wizard again that day. She very much suspected that he knew he was being followed, and he probably knew by who.

Hermione decided that there was nothing for her to do but head into the library and hope that Pucey was there. She could at least tell him about what she had seen, even if he was certain to be disappointed in her spying skills. Somehow, she was sure that a sneaky Slytherin would think that he could do much better than her.

But, even if she hadn't discovered what he was up to, she had collected a bit more evidence that there was something _wrong_ with this Max Purney. And she was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! We are back to Adrian POV for this one. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter nine and be on the lookout for chapter ten soon!

Working with Hermione Granger was nothing like Adrian expected it would be like. He had been surprised when she'd found him in the library and told him rather sheepishly that she'd taken it upon herself to tail Max the very first day after they'd had their talk together. It was oddly Slytherin of her, sneaking around the castle like that. But, she'd obviously _not_ been as sneaky as she'd thought she'd been as she very clearly must have alerted Max to his tail at some point, otherwise he wouldn't have up and vanished.

It was...oddly endearing.

Hermione hadn't appreciated the little chuckle he had, thinking it was at her expense. She'd pressed her hands to her hips - a familiar stance he'd come to expect - but the pink tint on her cheeks gave away that she was mostly feeling embarrassed.

He'd soothed the unintentional hurt, promising her that he wasn't making fun of her, promising that it was just odd to imagine her sneaking around the castle like that. She'd given him a secret smile and informed him that she probably got up to all sorts of things that he would never expect out of her.

 _That_ statement had given his mind a little more to run with than he bargained for.

Once they were back on topic, Adrian agreed that there was no way that Max could have just disappeared into thin air in that section of the corridor. He mused that it seemed like Max was able to apparate around the castle, which should _not_ be possible.

"I almost wonder if he is some sort of Unspeakable from the Ministry, sent to test Hogwarts's defenses," Adrian had said, running his hand through his straight, brown hair. "And the hapless student act is just a facade."

"Would they really do that?" she had asked, her eyes wide, showing off her naivete.

He hadn't been able to resist a derisive snort at the question. Really, hadn't the Ministry shown that they were willing to do basically anything? "They sent Umbridge here a few years ago," he had countered. "I think something like that would certainly be possible."

"Oh, right," Hermione had replied. "I had just hoped that Kingsley would do something about the corruption."

Her casual use of the Minister's given name made him bristle, before he forced himself to give her the benefit of the doubt. He wouldn't automatically assume that everything she was doing was to show off. She'd fought alongside the Minister, and she'd probably used it absentmindedly. "I'm sure Shacklebolt is doing a great many things," he had reassured her. "But, he can't make progress happen instantaneously. And the Department of Mysteries has always bucked against oversight."

"Which is precisely _why_ they need more oversight," Hermione had responded.

Adrian had softened a little more towards her then. She was such a crusader, and so certain in her convictions. She knew what was _right_ and she was going to give it her all to accomplish it. He appreciated the ambition.

"Anyway, I have made some contacts in the Ministry, so I will make some inquiries," he had promised her.

Then, it had become clear that he had absolutely _no_ idea what to talk about her if it wasn't related to Max. Clamming up, Adrian wished her a good evening and quickly returned back to his dormitory, before beating himself up over the fact that he was afraid to talk to a girl. But Hermione Granger was no mere girl.

Something his daydreams were only too keen to remind him of as of late.

After their brief meeting, Adrian was disappointed that he had no reason to speak to her as he hadn't heard back from his friend at the Ministry yet. He didn't want to yell at her for taking books out of the library, not after he had seen how deflated she looked when he'd visited her at Gryffindor tower.

So, when he finally received the package he had requested, Adrian was ready to sprint off in the direction of the library, eager to talk to her again. But, he was a Pucey, for Salazar's sake! He walked like a normal wizard even if he was looking forward to spending an evening in the library with Hermione. Merlin, that was a lot to unpack.

He walked directly towards the table that he knew Hermione favored and he was glad to find her sitting there, currently revising for...Charms, if he wasn't mistaken. "I've got a present for you," he said when he sat down next to her.

Hermione turned to look at him, her hair cascading over one shoulder. "A present, Pucey?" she asked, sounding intrigued.

"Well, it's some research anyway," he said, belatedly realizing how lame it was that he had called information on Max Purney a present. He just hoped Hermione would appreciate it. He pushed the package towards her. "Go on, then, open it."

He watched as her eager fingers opened the flap and pulled out the stack of documents that he had been sent. "What is it?" she asked, flipping through the hundreds of pages.

"Well, my contact at the Ministry assured me that there was no secret Unspeakable project at Hogwarts," he explained. "But I hope this is the next best thing."

"Census records?" she asked, when she finally read through the loads of names on the page.

"Exactly," Adrian said with a smirk. "From the last 100 years in the Province of Munster."

"Where Kenmare is located," Hermione murmured.

Adrian took a moment to appreciate the angles of her face while she was enthralled. The slope of her nose was sprinkled with freckles that had long since faded from summer, but where still there. The delicate curve of her lips showing off that the lower one was slightly larger than the top, well abused from how often she bit it unconsciously.

"Pucey, how did you get these?" Hermione suddenly asked, looking at him in confusion. "None of the ones after 1946 should not have been released to the general public yet."

He couldn't help from smiling, wondering if she would appreciate his ingenuity. "I told you I had a contact at the Ministry," he said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "He was able to pull them for me."

"That's illegal," Hermione said with a frown, but she was already working to divide them out into their rough date ranges. "But, necessary, I suppose. I doubt we will get clear answers from Max."

"Glad you can see it my way," he quipped, thinking that it was rather like her to question the legality of what he was doing, when she was constantly breaking the rules. "Anyway, we won't share them with anyone else and I'll destroy them when we are done."

She nodded in agreement. "And the last century?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Well, I think we need to face the possibilities that Max might not be who he says he is," Adrian explained. "And even if he is who he says he is, there is the possibility that he's come from another time."

"But...forward time travel has never been documented before," she answered, rather reasonably. "Time magic is very complex."

He shrugged his broad shoulders. Adrian _had_ thought about that, but there was no way to get records from the future, so this was their best option. "It doesn't hurt to check," he offered.

"I suppose you are right," Hermione said with a sigh. "This is going to take ages to go through."

"We'll just have to split up the work," he said, dividing the last census up roughly in two. "At least there are two of us."

It was nice to have a companion for the dull work, Adrian mused. And Granger was nothing if not efficient. She dutifully took her half of the list and began working her way through the pages at an even clip.

Adrian was surprised by how... _nice_ it felt to be working with Hermione. Of course, he'd grown out of the delusion that she would be spouting facts off, trying to prove how smart she was. He'd quickly learned that his teenage self had been utterly wrong about the young woman that Hermione Granger had grown into, more self-confident and assured. But, he never expected that they would work this well together.

Before he even knew it, they had gotten through the most recent census without any sign of Max Purney.

"That's odd," she said, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "He should certainly be in this list. It was only four years ago - he would have been a teenager."

"Even odder that there isn't even a Purney _listed_ in this whole census," Adrian agreed. "Surely his father would be included."

Hermione nibbled on her lower lip. "Maybe his father is a muggle? They wouldn't have been included on the magical census, and Max wouldn't be counted until he came of age," she suggested. "Perhaps we should be looking at the muggle census, too."

Adrian was glad to have her expertise in that area. Of course, Hermione would be in the same position. "I didn't even consider him being a muggleborn, but it could be," he answered. "It's a bit odd that the Ministry doesn't count muggleborns until they are of age. Muggleborns are still part of the population."

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it," she quipped. "The Ministry does a lot of things that are a bit odd regarding muggleborns."

He felt badly then, for never even thinking about the kinds of hardships that muggleborns must face from their own government. He didn't want to say anything about it, though, feeling a bit stupid that he hadn't thought of it until then.

Their moment was cut off when Madame Pomfrey came around and told them that the library was closing. Hermione looked bitterly disappointed. "We only got through one census," she said, dejected. "And we were just getting into a groove."

Wondering if he would regret it later, Adrian made an impulse suggestion. "I've got a private room," he blurted out, before realizing he was inviting a witch back to it. And not just _any_ witch. Hermione Granger. "We could keep working there, if you wanted to get through one or two more."

Hermione, it seemed, was completely unphased by the offer. "Brilliant!" she said, before standing from her place and packing up her bag. "Being an eighth year has at least one perk - I don't have a curfew. So I can stay as long as you'll have me."

Adrian felt his words stick in his throat, completely unable to come up with something suitable to say back to her. He wasn't sure where all of these improper suggestions were coming from.

She chatted away the whole walk back to his apartment, not seeming to care that he was being an absolute shit conversationalist. When they arrived, she made herself right at home, setting up on the couch and pulling the census back out of her bag, before fanning it out on the table.

"It's probably better that we work here anyway," she said. "With the census information being so confidential anyway. Oh! Do you have any tea?"

Adrian was immensely thankful that she'd taken full control of the situation, even though he didn't like being bossed around in his own room. He busied himself with lighting a fire in his fireplace and preparing a pot of tea. Once it was done, he took his spot next to her.

This partnership was going far better than he ever could have imagined, and it had Adrian briefly wondering why he had been so irritated with Granger in the first place. She was a brilliant witch, and he was forced to admit that maybe they could get along, if he just got over himself.

They breezed through the 1991 census quickly, with no sign of Purney and barely any wizards named Max either. By the time he'd gotten through his half of the 1986 census, Adrian was wondering if maybe they shouldn't try to get the muggle census.

Stretching, he let out a yawn. "I might have to pick this back up tomorrow," he said. "I don't know if I can look at another name."

When he received no answer from the tiny witch, Adrian turned to see that she'd fallen asleep at some point, papers still clenched in her hands. Standing up, he agonized over what he should do. Really, he knew the most obvious option was to wake her up and send her off to Gryffindor tower.

But she looked so peaceful, sleeping there...

Prying the paper from her hands, Adrian used his wand to better position her on the couch. Hopefully she wouldn't wake with a crick in her neck. Then, he summoned a comfortable blanket and gently lay it over her.

 _Salazar_ , he hoped she wasn't furious at him in the morning.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I am really glad you liked Adrian's inner monologue - he's a bit out of his depth with Hermione, isn't he? You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter ten and be on the lookout for chapter eleven soon!

When Hermione woke up, she wasn't quite sure where she was. In any case, she was _certain_ that she wasn't in her bed in Gryffindor tower. Sitting up cautiously, she saw that she was on a rather comfortable couch, covered with a soft blanket.

Looking around, her eyes narrowed when she saw the census records sitting on the table and the events of the prior evening came flying back to her.

" _Oh Merlin!_ " Hermione whispered to herself. She couldn't believe that she'd _actually_ fallen asleep in Adrian Pucey's private apartments. He must think she was some kind of freak, just making herself at home on his couch and then falling asleep there. It wasn't as if they were friends, and she was certain that this would only make her seem more odd than he already found her.

Standing up, the blanket dropped to the ground. Bending over to pick it up, she was touched that he had thought to make her a little bit more comfortable, even if she was his unwilling guest.

While she was fretting on how she was _ever_ going to face him again, she didn't hear the door opening. Before she'd even realized it, the wizard she was thinking about avoiding for the next three months was walking out of what she presumed was his own room.

"Sleep okay?" he teased, an amused smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, making him look roguish.

Hermione blushed furiously. "I am so sorry Pucey," she said, unsure of what to do other than apologize. "I didn't realize that I was so tired, and-"

He held up his hands, making her hurried apology stop. "It's really not a big deal, Granger," he promised. "So long as you aren't upset with me for not waking you up."

"Well, you _could_ have," she insisted. "I just mean... you wouldn't have upset me if you had. But, thank you for letting me sleep here." It was rather...hospitable that he'd let her stay, and even gotten her a blanket. "Sometimes I get so into research, that I don't really realize how late it's gotten or how tired I am. Harry and Ron used to find me asleep in the library all the time."

She blushed, unsure of why she'd just shared that tidbit with him. Now, he was going to be prowling the library just to make sure that she wasn't sleeping in it. Wasn't it bad enough that Pucey always seemed to know what she was doing there? "I don't know why I told you that," she told him, looking down at her hands.

"It's alright, I understand," Pucey answered, in a rare moment of kindness. "I'll confess that I can get quite obsessed with research myself. My friends never really understood it when we were at school."

"Really?" Hermione asked in surprise. "It's just...it didn't seem that you and your friends were really ever that academically minded. It seemed like you were more interested in Quidditch."

"Didn't realize you spent so much time observing me, Granger," Pucey said, sounding annoyed. "Just because I'm not completely _devoted_ to my studies like you doesn't mean that I can't enjoy learning."

"I wasn't trying to be mean," Hermione answered. "It just always seemed like...the Slytherins had a bit of a leg up in wizarding society, what with their family connections and all."

That only made Pucey more irritated than before. "Are you trying to suggest that I didn't get my job on my own merit?" he asked, thoroughly offended by what she'd insinuated. "Because I'd argue that being a Slytherin is more stigmatized than it's ever been before. Many of my friends can't even get jobs because their fathers donated money to You-Know-Who."

Hermione _hadn't_ known that, but she supposed that it might be true. She was just so sick of being seen as less than because she was muggleborn. Having to prove herself twice over, despite having better marks than her peers. "I didn't mean it like that," she answered weakly, although it was sort of what she meant. "I guess I can let my bitterness cloud my judgement occasionally."

"Bitterness over what?" he asked, obviously curious about what she was trying to say.

"Bitterness that I'm looked over for being muggleborn," Hermione argued, pressing her hands to her hips. "You know, how we talked about how much the Ministry overlooks muggleborns until we are useful to them."

Pucey laughed at her then. "Oh, that's rich, coming from _you_ ," he told her. "If anyone in this school gets special treatment, it's you."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione demanded, not thinking that she'd really gotten anything handed to her.

"Oh, you know that you get away with things that Slytherins never would. Dumbledore always had a soft spot for you and Potter and Weasley," he explained. "I'll never forget all the times that our rightful win of the House Cup was snatched away - with Dumbledore awarding house points to you three for breaking the rules!"

"Well, forgive me for trying to save the wizarding world!" Hermione shouted at him. "It's not like I asked for those things to happen. I would have been very happy accepting any punishment that the Headmaster came up with."

"I'm sure," Pucey mused, making it clear that he did not believe her for one second.

"And it's not as if Slytherins aren't favorites either," she added. "You can't pretend that Professor Snape wasn't padding your house with house points. He wouldn't even call on me, and he took points away from me for explaining a concept to Neville one time."

"It was only to offset the mistreatment from other teachers," Adrian argued. "He was acting in his house's best interest."

Hermione scoffed. "Spoken like a true barrister," she quipped.

"I'm actually going to be a solicitor," Adrian rebuffed, though she could see that her assessment stung him a little bit.

"I'm leaving," Hermione said, finally, knowing that absolutely no good would come out of their continued arguing. Especially when she wasn't entirely sure what they were arguing over.

Adrian smirked at her, making her heart skip in annoyance. "You know that means I've won," he told her. "With you running away."

"Please," Hermione scoffed, grabbing her bag and packing it up. She wasn't looking forward to facing Ginny and telling her why she hadn't returned to her lonely room in Gryffindor tower, but she knew that it was better than staying here and arguing with someone so stubborn.

"You know, Malfoy is a Slytherin, too," Pucey said, while he walked her to the door.

Hermione turned to look at him in confusion. "So?" she questioned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, what do you think about Malfoy?" he questioned.

She bit her lower lip, unsure of where he was going with his line of questioning. It _felt_ like a trap - like he was trying to trick her into saying that Slytherins were the best or something. Finally, she shrugged. "I don't know. We aren't friends. He hurt my feelings a lot when we were still children," she said, trying to describe the complicated way she felt about Draco Malfoy. "I _do_ believe him when he said that he never wanted to be a Death Eater, but I don't think he necessarily helped us out of the goodness of his heart either."

"And now?" Pucey prodded a little deeper. "Have your feelings changed?"

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "He apologized to me, for the way he acted when he was younger. I appreciated that and accepted it," she explained, wondering why she was sharing all of this with Adrian Pucey of all people. She hadn't even told Harry and Ron. "But, we keep to ourselves. It's not like we're going to become friends or anything like that."

Pucey seemed to relax at her explanation of her tumultuous interactions with Malfoy. Maybe the other Slytherin had put Pucey up to asking her, just to make sure that she really didn't hold any grudges against her. After all, her lack of remorse for what had happened to Marietta Edgecomb had spread around Hogwarts. Maybe people didn't want to cross Hermione Granger anymore.

Hermione grabbed the door handle and was about to leave when Pucey stopped her once more.

"When do you want to go over the rest of the records?" Pucey questioned, leaning against the wall next to the door.

She rolled her eyes at him. _Merlin_ , only Pucey could argue with her so fiercely one minute - and seem to take issue with her personally - and invite her to research with him the next. "I'll come by tonight after dinner," she responded. "Should we just meet here?"

"Yeah, no need to bother with the library," he agreed. "I think we can get through the rest of them tonight. But then, we might have to accept that there is no record of Max Purney from Kenmare."

"Agreed," Hermione answered. "Now Pucey, I've really got to get to class." Before he could think of anything else to talk to her with, Hermione opened the door and slipped out.

If she hurried, she could make it back to Gryffindor in time to enjoy a shower. If she had enough time, she'd swing by the Great Hall for a slice of toast on her way to Charms.

The whole walk back, she couldn't stop thinking about Adrian Pucey. She had been...pleasantly surprised with how well they had gotten on with one another the night before. He could actually pull his weight when it came to the work, something that couldn't be said for the rest of her friends. He was obviously a hard worker, even if that wasn't something she'd acknowledged before.

He had even been unexpectedly sweet, letting her sleep on the couch when she'd fallen asleep in his room (something she was certain to be embarrassed about for a long time).

But then, Pucey had been absolutely unable to resist picking an argument with her that morning. Old habits really died hard, she supposed. She bristled at the idea that she had gotten any kind of special treatment, but maybe the only reason it had stung so much was because deep down, she knew that he was a little bit right.

And what had been with his questions about Malfoy, she wondered? She was sure she was never going to get any answers to that mystery.

Gryffindor tower was mostly empty by the time that she got back. Hustling up the stairs, Hermione threw down her bag so that she could get ready for the day. A quick shower and a change of uniform was enough to have her feeling better about herself. Switching out the books in her bag, once Hermione was certain she was ready to face the day, she returned to the common room.

Ginny was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, one red eyebrow arched. "And just where were you all evening, Miss Granger?" she asked. "I'm Head Girl. I should really take points away for you being out all night," she teased.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't have a curfew," she answered, feeling like a hypocrite...here she was getting special treatment from the Head Girl herself!

"That doesn't answer my question," Ginny responded, before she let out a tiny gasp. "Hermione Granger, were you out with a boy?" she asked, eager to hear the answer.

Hermione blushed fiercely, wondering if her cheeks would just remain permanently red at this point being embarrassed all the time. "No I was not!" she lied, knowing that she would never live down Ginny's teasing if she knew that Hermione had been with Pucey all night. "It's nothing like that. I just...fell asleep in the library, studying for an exam."

"Hermione, we have nearly all the same classes," Ginny answered, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "There are no exams for at least another month."

"Uh, got to get to class," Hermione said, sidestepping her friend, desperate for the conversation to be over.

"Hey!" Ginny called after her retreating form. "I've got Charms, too, you know?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! Can you believe that we are already halfway through this story? Do you think that Max will be able to get his act together? You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter eleven and be on the lookout for chapter twelve soon!

There was no denying that Max was avoiding Headmistress McGonagall. He knew that she wanted to talk to him, her heavy gaze palpable when he sat among the Slytherin students in the Great Hall during meals. He studiously avoided her gaze, instead talking with the seventh years that he had integrated himself with over the last two weeks.

He didn't want to speak with her, because he knew that he had made absolutely no progress so far with his time turner. If anything, he was growing somewhat concerned that his testing wasn't going as he'd hoped at all. His previously infinite assurance that he would be returned to his proper time at the end of this was beginning to dim somewhat after repeated failures to jump even a few seconds forward in time. If Headmistress McGonagall knew that he was struggling so much, he knew that she would want to rope the Ministry in as soon as possible. Him being in the past was nothing if not a liability.

But, he was also avoiding her because he was somewhat certain that she knew he had not taken her directive to leave his parents alone to heart. Max had promised her that he wouldn't meddle, but surely the Headmistress knew that he was a Slytherin.

So, he avoided her eyes at all costs at meal times, and even avoided her in the hallways.

However, Max unfortunately had to acknowledge that there was no weaseling his way out of a direct invitation for tea with the woman in question. Begrudgingly, Max presented himself to the gargoyle that guarded the Headmistress's office at the appointed time, making his way up the spiral staircase, dread sinking deeper in his stomach with each step he took.

"You've been avoiding me, Mister Purney," the Headmistress said from behind her large oak desk.

Max gave her a charming smile. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Headmistress," he answered. "I'm sure it's not intentional. I've just been so busy working on my time turner and spending time with my fellow classmates."

"I hope that you haven't been seeking out your parents," McGonagall said sharply. "You remember that there could be dire circumstances if you interfere in their relationship. Like you being unborn."

He studiously shook his head. "If anything I've been going out of my way to avoid them," Max said, somewhat telling the truth. "My mum is particularly persistent."

"Yes, well, she's always had a soft spot for lost causes," McGonagall quipped. "So, if you don't seem like a lost little puppy, she will probably lose interest in you quickly." She lifted her cup of tea to her lips, staring at him over the rim to gauge his reaction.

Max felt badly that she was still doubting him, although she was not wrong to suspect him. He had been meddling in his parents' relationship, only, he hadn't done anything so Gryffindor as to directly approach them. He was seeking outside forces to help them see that they were right for one another.

His hope was somewhat buoyed by his father's friends' assertion that Adrian was very interested in Hermione. He just needed to get going on operation make-his-father-jealous as soon as possible.

"Well, how is it going?" she asked, pointedly.

He nearly gave her a run down on his plans to work with Draco Malfoy before he realized that the Headmistress was referring to his work with the time turner and not his plan to see his parents happily together. Clearing his throat, Max caught himself just in time. "I was able to repair the time turner easily," he explained, his hand slipping into his pocket where he always kept the golden little sphere.

"You didn't tell me it was broken!" she said, sounding more than a little concerned. "I wouldn't have agreed to this...this scheme of your's if I'd know that."

"It _was_ broken, but now it's fixed. No need to worry about that, Headmistress," he said, giving her another one of those smiles.

"Oh, please don't smile at me like that," she nearly begged. "It's making me regret trusting you."

Unhappy that she was so able to see through his Slytherin charm (it worked on practically every professor he had!), Max's face fell. "I've tested it's capability to move backwards through time, and it's working as expected," he explained.

"Well, that's good," she conceded, her mouth held in a tight line.

"I'm only just beginning to test moving forward in time. As you know, that's a lot trickier," he said. "I'm only willing to go a few seconds at this moment, but you have to trust me that I will get it sorted. I promise."

The Headmistress looked at him for a few beats, the war within herself quite obvious. "You have a month, Mister Pucey," she said. "And then I will be handing you over to the Ministry. They will be able to return you to your correct time."

He wanted to argue with her that a month just wasn't enough time for him to work. He'd only had two weeks so far, and he wasn't nearly where he wanted to be on _either_ of his projects. But he couldn't tell the Headmistress that.

Plastering a fake smile on his face, Max nodded in agreement. "Of course, a month is very generous of you," he agreed. "I am sure that I will be out of your hair well before then."

McGonagall sighed, the weight of trusting him obviously weighing on her heavily. "Alright, you may go," she said, dismissing him from their tea. "But I want a progress report from you every week. No more avoiding me, Mister Pucey. The Ministry is only a fire call away."

Max gave her a mock hurt look. "I wasn't avoiding you, Headmistress," he told her.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Mister Pucey!" she countered. "Now go, before I change my mind about you."

He didn't need to be told twice, and hurried down the steps, away from the Headmistress's office.

Once Max was free from his conversation with the Headmistress, he knew there was only one place to go - the Slytherin Common Room. Despite not being officially in the house, Max sat with the Slytherins at meal times and Draco Malfoy had given him the password so that he could stop by.

It had been surprisingly easy for Max to befriend the wizard. It seemed that Draco was somewhat of a pariah at Hogwarts. He surmised that it was due to the Malfoy heir's role in the war, seeing that he was the only student who had actually been a Death Eater and the rumors about his actions in Dumbledore's death were still swirling about.

Draco was obviously quite annoyed by it, so he was glad to have an outsider like Max treat him like a normal friend. Max just found himself wanting to reveal the wonderful future that Malfoy was going to have once he left Hogwarts and started an import company for potions supplies. If he didn't already have his family's wealth, Malfoy would still be an incredibly rich man, with a lovely little family. He was seen as a somewhat progressive voice in the Wizengamot, too. Once he got a bit more distance from the war, he would be a celebrated member of society on his own merits.

But, Max knew it would be silly to do something like that.

No, he really needed to start on his plan to make his father jealous, and he planned to do that by pushing Draco and his mum together. They wouldn't _actually_ be romantically involved (for one, Draco was quite enamored by Astoria Greengrass, who would be his future wife, Max was pleased to admit; for two, he didn't want to chance his plans backfiring and his mum actually falling for the Slytherin), but rather, give the appearance to his dad, who was a bit notorious for jumping to conclusions.

Graham, Cassius and Marcus had convinced him that Draco would be the best wizard to really get under his dad's skin. Apparently, Draco and his mum had a long history of sniping at one another, but had put aside after the war. Perhaps his dad might think that romance was the cause for that. Max had been skeptical, but when they mentioned Draco and his mum in the same sentence, his dad seemed to lose his cool. It was enough to convince him to move ahead with planning.

It couldn't happen soon enough, either. Max was becoming increasingly concerned that his mum might actually be interested in _him_. She'd followed him all over the castle the other day, before he used his time turner to get away from her. She was always watching him in the Great Hall, too. He couldn't think of anything so mortifying as his mum having a crush on him.

No, it only highlighted his need to get his parents together as soon as possible. Then he could focus on getting back to his correct time.

When Max entered the Slytherin Common Room, it was a bit like coming home. Of course, he spent a lot of time there while he was at school. But it wasn't quite right either. The decor would obviously be getting an upgrade in the coming decades, and they would be fixing the heating so that Slytherin house wasn't quite so damp and cold.

He was pleased to find Malfoy sitting near one of the big fireplaces that bookended the room, trying to get a little warmth during the frigid February weather. "Draco," he greeted the blond with a grin. "What are you up to today?"

"Just counting down the days until I'm released from this school," he answered, sounding thoroughly depressed. "And studying, I suppose."

"Oh, don't say that," Max tried to comfort him. "Just think, you wouldn't see Astoria everyday if you weren't here."

"I suppose she is the one bright spot in my miserable existence as a Hogwarts student," Malfoy agreed.

Max rolled his eyes, realizing that Draco was in one of his moods. "What will you do when she is here all by herself next year, and you are out in the real world?" he questioned.

"Write to her everyday, and visit on Hogsmeade weekends. Perhaps her mother would let her visit me on holidays," he said wistfully. "That is, if she even _wants_ to see me. Perhaps I've just been a diversion."

"Please, she's as besotted with you as you are with her," Max told him. "A pureblood like her wouldn't be sneaking around in broom cupboards with you if she wasn't serious."

Malfoy flushed, perhaps not aware that anyone had known about his secret trysts with the dark haired girl. "Well, what did you want to talk about?" he questioned. "I'm sure that it wasn't to talk about Astoria."

"You're right," Max smirked. "I was wondering what you thought of Hermione Granger."

Draco's eyebrows rose at the name. Apparently, it was a topic that he was not expecting. "Don't really think too much of her, not since we...cleared the air earlier this year," he answered. His eyes dropped to his lap. "Honestly, most of the time she just makes me feel ashamed."

"Why's that?" Max asked, wanting to get a bit more insight into his mum.

"Well, I was a little twat to her, wasn't I?" he asked. "I was so rude to her - somewhat deservedly...she _can_ be an annoying know-it-all - but mostly just because she is muggleborn. And only because I was copying my dad. It's embarrassing."

"I'm sure that she's forgiven you. She can be very understanding," Max told the other wizard. If he knew his mum, he knew that she wouldn't hold a grudge over something like that, especially not if Malfoy had apologized properly.

"Anyway, why do you ask about her?" he asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Oh, she was just the witch that found me when I showed up," Max lied. "She keeps trying to talk to me, and I wasn't sure if she was a good sort of person."

"I think she's a good witch," Malfoy agreed. "At the very least - she is going places. She'll probably be running the Ministry in five years. But I don't think that you should go after her."

"Why's that?" Max asked, even though he wouldn't dream of going after his own mother.

"I think another wizard has his eye on her already," Malfoy answered. "And he won't play fair."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Max is definitely in over his head, isn't he? You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions. Also, I am working on a pretty big rewrite of Wildest Moments - if you are interested in alpha or beta reading, please let me know!
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter twelve and be on the lookout for chapter thirteen soon!

Hermione hadn't been able to stop thinking about Pucey since she left his room. She didn't think she would ever get over the absolute mortification of having fallen asleep on his couch, _especially_ when he was so nice about it. It was something that she wouldn't expect.

Ginny hadn't given up on getting the full story of Hermione's non-return to Gryffindor, perhaps sensing the lie that her friend was telling. Having to replay the night over and over again, only made her stomach squirm, wondering if she should apologize to the wizard.

It had been so nice that he was willing to roll up his shirt sleeves and spend time paging through endless census records, sharing some of the hard work with her. When they had been working towards a common goal, they had really complimented each other in their work. Hermione had been hopeful that maybe things were turning a corner with her and Adrian Pucey, but it seemed that in less than twelve hours she had completely messed that up.

There was something in between them, some tension simmering under the surface that they could never seem to shake. Instead, it was constantly bubbling up in mean little snipes at one another, absolutely destroying any progress that they might have made in improving their inter-personal relationship. Oh, what was wrong with her that she couldn't help but argue?

Because, she was quickly realising that she didn't _want_ to argue with Pucey. She quite liked working with him and thought that they might actually be able to be friends if they could put the animosity behind them. She didn't like hearing what he thought of her - that she somehow got away with things that other students didn't.

And maybe it only stung so much because she knew there _was_ a seed of truth to that.

But, it wasn't as if he hadn't used his dubious personal connections to get access to classified census records. Maybe he could see the benefit in using that special treatment if you were using it for the right reasons.

By the time that her lessons were over, Hermione was completely consumed with thoughts of Adrian, but mostly to do with their joint venture in figuring out what was up with Max Purney. Even though they still had several census records to review still, she didn't think that they were going to find any confirmation of a wizard named Max Purney.

Reviewing the muggle records had _some_ merit, but she was pretty certain that a muggleborn wouldn't select Slytherin as his chosen house to join while at Hogwarts. Not enough time had passed since the war's end, and there was no way that a muggleborn could feel welcome in the house of silver and green. It was a sad reality to face.

An uneasy feeling twisted in her stomach when she came to the logical conclusion about the wizard - Max Purney must be lying about who he really was.

She doubted that she and Pucey would be able to get him to reveal who he really was in a way that _she_ would approve of. Hermione thought that Pucey might be able to come up with several _creative_ ways to get him to talk. There had to _some_ other way that they could get to the bottom of it, though, with Max none the wiser.

Hermione was struck with a bit of brilliance during her potions lesson. She honestly didn't know why she didn't think of it sooner. She would just have to ask Harry to borrow the Marauder's Map. They could find Max, and the Map would clearly label who he was.

Of course, this would mean revealing the nature of the Map to Adrian Pucey, a Slytherin, but she thought the sacrifice would be well worth it. Hopefully, he would be intrigued by the brilliance of the charms work, and not too focused on how she and her friends had used it while they were students. Hopefully, he wouldn't just see it as another way that she had gotten special treatment.

As soon she was done with classes for the day, Hermione knew that she would have just enough time to head off to the owlery to pen Harry a quick note to ask him to borrow the Map. She wasn't sure how much convincing the now auror Potter would need to lend it to her. Hermione didn't particularly fancy telling him about Max. It would just complicate things unnecessarily, and she was sure that Harry would want to get involved. If Max ended up being harmless as a fly, she was certain she would be embarrassed for dragging everyone into the suspicion.

Hermione made her way up out of the dungeons, focused on getting back to the Great Hall before dinner started. By the time that she was on the main floor, she almost didn't register the sound of someone calling her name.

"Hey Granger, wait up!" a voice said, finally close enough for her to hear it.

Turning around, she was surprised to come face to face with none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Salazar, Granger, how can you possibly walk so fast when you are lugging so many books around?" Malfoy asked, sounding amused and a bit out of breath.

Hermione laughed. "I think you might need to get back into Quidditch training, if keeping up with me has left you _that_ winded, Malfoy," she countered, thinking it was a _bit_ amusing to find him so ruffled - so very un-Malfoy-like.

"If they needed a seeker this year I would," he told her, in a moment of candor. "But my skills are probably lacking after not playing a few years. And it wouldn't be the same...not playing against Potter."

She raised her eyebrows, finding it surprising that Malfoy would actually admit that his rivalry with Harry was at least part of the reason that he had played Quidditch to begin with.

"So, where were you off to in such a hurry anyway?" he asked, casually.

Hermione felt her irritation rise. If he had seen that she _was_ in such a hurry, why had he stopped her to begin with. "I was actually off the owlery. I hoped to get there and back before dinner," Hermione told her, biting her lower lip. Now, she didn't think she was going to make it, and would have to go afterwards. Maybe on the way to Pucey's apartments. "But, what did you need, Malfoy?"

"What did I need?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Well, yeah, you _are_ the one that stopped me in the hallway," she answered, a bit snarky now that he'd ruined her plans. "So...?"

Malfoy searched her face. "Uh, I'm sorry Granger," he said. "It's just...well Max Purney said that _you_ needed to speak with me. He said it was urgent."

Hermione made a noise of annoyance. Now why would he go and do that? "That is so _odd_ ," she said, wondering if there was something going on in the background that she wasn't aware of. "I haven't spoken to Max in days. Not to mention that I didn't tell him I was looking for you."

"He lied?" Malfoy asked, sounding equally perplexed at the turn of events.

"Apparently," Hermione answered, thinking that Malfoy was probably not involved in the plot. "But it is so odd, because Adrian Pucey was _just_ asking me what I thought of you yesterday. I wonder why people are trying to put us together."

"Oh, I think I understand it now," Malfoy said, with a smirk.

"Understand what?" Hermione asked, not thinking that it seemed any clearer than the minute before. Maybe Malfoy wasn't so innocent in all of this?

Before Hermione could even register what was happening, Malfoy had grabbed her by the jaw, pulling her face up to compliment the angle of his. Then, he was dipping his head and pressing his lips to hers.

She was stunned, unmoving like a baby bunny who had forgotten that it could bolt when danger approached. Hermione was frozen, unable to respond to the fact that it was Draco _Malfoy_ who was kissing her - and so randomly! With her eyes still wide open, she was treated to a rather unflattering look at his face; his eyes were shut tightly and his lips were as well, leaving no opportunity to deepen the kiss should she want to.

It was almost amusing how much he seemed to be hating it.

But then out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Adrian staring at her and Malfoy, dumbfounded, apparently disrupted on his way to dinner. A darker look came over his face, and before she could react he was storming off in the direction that she had come from.

Hermione broke away from Malfoy's grasp and tried to call out to him before he got too far away. "Pucey, wait!" she said, only to see him get further and further away.

"What was that all about Malfoy?" she demanded, swirling around to stare down her blond classmate.

"Just trying to give you a push in the right direction," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Now, I have to go speak with Astoria."

Before she could castigate him for his impulsive behavior, Hermione realized her window to find Pucey was closing quickly. Running off in the direction that he stalked off to, she didn't know _why_ she felt like she needed to apologize to him for it. It wasn't as if she had kissed Malfoy - it was the other way around. But even if she had kissed Draco Malfoy in the main hallway where anyone could see, why did she feel like she needed to embarrass Pucey?

She was halfway up to his apartments when she realized the answer to that question. Obviously she wanted to make it clear to him that she was _not_ romantically interested in Malfoy. He'd asked that same day and she had been honest with him.

If he would believe her was another question.

But, Hermione decided, she would just have to make him believe her.

She didn't see any evidence of Pucey when she got to the portrait that guarded his rooms, but she would bet anything that he was in there. Hermione knocked furiously against the frame of the door. "Pucey? Pucey, come on, please talk to me," she asked from the other side. "I don't want you to be upset with me for something that I didn't even want."

Hermione held her breath while she waited for him to open the door. She strained her ears, hoping to hear any sign of him on the other side, but was left disappointed. "Come on Pucey," she practically begged. "We should talk about...about what you saw," she added, not really wanting to announce to the hallway what had actually happened with Malfoy.

Then she heard a shuffling on the other side and she _knew_ that Pucey was there and he was listening. He still made no move to open the door.

Hermione saw red. Just what was he playing at, standing there and letting her make an absolute fool of herself on the other side of the door? Was this all a big joke to her? Well, if he didn't want to talk about it, then she didn't want to either!

"Fine then, I'll just leave!" she practically shouted. "I don't know why you _care_ if Malfoy kissed me anyway. What's it to you, Pucey? Huh?" She pressed her hands to her hips, defiant, even though she was talking to a rather unimpressed portrait and not the wizard she was continually sparring with.

Just as she was about to leave him to stew in whatever mood he was in, lamenting a wasted night of research, Hermione gasped when the portrait was opened abruptly. Adrian was revealed, staring at her with a hurt sort of look. But it was his brown eyes that were filled with a sort of...jealousy that really stole her breath away.

Was Adrian jealous of Malfoy?

"Well, come in then," he ordered. "Let's talk."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I'm going to try not to blather on too long and just let you get into the chapter. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter thirteen and be on the lookout for chapter fourteen soon!

If he was honest with himself, Adrian could admit that he'd felt relief when Granger had told him that she wasn't even friends with Draco Malfoy. The suggestion that there might be something between the two of them had niggled around in his brain after his friends had suggested it, and he hadn't been able to rid the uneasy feeling that came with it. He didn't want to examine what that feeling _was_ , but he knew that he didn't like it.

Adrian had been bothered enough that he'd actually been compelled to ask her.

But, when he saw Malfoy and Granger standing in the hallway together, Hermione giving him a teasing little smile that Draco returned...he'd felt the feeling return. Had she been lying to him? And if she had lied, why? What reason would she have?

He was forced to acknowledge that he could name the feeling when he saw Draco bend over and plant his thin little lips on Hermione's perfect ones.

Jealousy.

He, Adrian Pucey, was jealous of Draco Malfoy. With the acknowledgement came the stunning realization that it was because he _liked_ Hermione Granger. Well, more than liked her...he fancied her.

Knowing that he needed to get away from the happy couple before he did something stupid like punch Draco or scream at Hermione, Adrian stormed off in the direction of his apartment, needing to be alone with his thoughts so that he could examine them more closely.

When had his annoyance with Hermione Granger and her need to be perfect shifted into something else? He had gradually found himself looking forward to finding her in the library every night. She was the highlight of his day. How long had he been more appreciative of her form, unable to be hidden by her school uniform? He couldn't pretend that he didn't watch her from time to time, gazing at her long legs under her skirt, the gentle curve of her breasts. He loved the way her face flushed when they argued and he was often sidetracked when her lips parted.

Salazar, this crush had swept over him out of nowhere, but he had to realize that it had been building up for months.

He fancied Hermione Granger, but he also had to face the facts. There was obviously more going on between her and Draco Malfoy than she'd revealed to him. It would be hard for him to get over his feelings for her when he had so recently figured them out, but it wouldn't do for him to pine after her like a pathetic boy.

Adrian made it back to his apartment quickly, and slumped on the couch. Why should she give him the time of day anyway? He was only ever mean to her and frequently yelled at her about books - one of the only things in the castle that brought her any joy. He hated the way that she'd automatically assumed he was there to scold her when he'd visited her at Gryffindor tower. But why wouldn't she think that? It was all he'd ever done.

He had barely been back to his apartments when he heard someone desperately knocking on the door. "Pucey? Pucey, come on, please talk to me," he heard. Even with her voice muffled by the portrait, there was no denying that it was Hermione.

Stunned, Adrian remained glued to the spot on his settee. He couldn't believe that she'd actually realized that he'd seen her little rendezvous and that she'd even followed him back. Of course, Hermione couldn't let something like go.

She was practically begging on the other side of the wall, and he was almost feeling sorry enough for himself that he thought about letting her think that he wasn't actually in her. He wasn't sure if he wanted to face her, not when he was so upset with her for lying to him and with himself for being such a jerk to her.

"Fine then, I'll just leave!" he heard her shout from the otherside of the portrait. "I don't know why you _care_ if Malfoy kissed me anyway. What's it to you, Pucey? Huh?"

He was moving before he even realized it, knowing that this was probably the only in that he was going to get on this topic and he had to take the opportunity now, otherwise this would only fester between them, crushing any chance of romance between them at any point.

She looked a bit stunned when he opened the portrait door, but he was overcome by how pretty she looked then, hair wild and cheeks pink. "Well, come in then," he said before he could lose his nerve. "Let's talk."

Hermione nodded dumbly, but entered his apartments readily enough. "I didn't think you were actually going to let me in," she said once they were alone. "But don't think I'm not irritated with you!"

"Irritated with me?" he questioned with a snort, wondering just how he could have done anything to upset her. "You are the one that lied to me. Look - it doesn't matter to me if you _like_ Malfoy, but you didn't have to tell me that you weren't."

She flushed a darker pink. "I'm not with Malfoy!" she announced, hurriedly. "I don't know what happened. One minute he was telling me Max said I was looking for him, and the next thing I knew he was kissing me."

"Are you sure?" he asked, sketpically, but he knew that she didn't have a very good reason to lie now.

"Yes, I'm sure and it was absolutely the _worst_ kiss I've ever received in my life," she babbled on. "But, I don't know why me kissing Malfoy would have anything to do with _you_ -"

Before she could say anything else, Adrian was closing the distance between them. He had a feeling that actions would speak louder than words in this case. Wrapping her in his arms, he ducked his head and kissed her soundly. Hermione stilled for a moment, before sighing and sinking deeper into his arms. They fit together better than he'd imagined and he was pleased to note that her lips were as soft as they looked.

An eager little thing, Hermione was keen to deepen the kiss, her tongue darting out to test the seam of his lips. Adrian groaned, wanting nothing more than to open his mouth to her exploration then, but he knew they needed to _talk_ before they took things further or they would end up in a silly string of misunderstandings.

Hopefully she'd be up for more snogging once they got everything sorted.

Breaking away, he looked at her with a self-satisfied grin when he saw how affected she was by him. "That's why," he said quietly.

For once in her life, it looked like Hermione Granger was speechless. Eventually though her brain caught up with her mouth. "I don't understand," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. "You don't want me to kiss Malfoy because you want to kiss me?"

"I don't want _anyone_ but me to kiss you, Granger," Adrian answered, hoping that his honesty was going to pay off. "But I've done a really shit job of showing you that I liked you. To be fair though, I didn't really put it together until I saw you with him."

She gave him a silly smile, before throwing her arms around his neck, trying to pull him down into another kiss.

Salazar, he loved the way that she felt in his arms. But, he needed to focus. "Wait, I haven't said everything that I wanted to say and if I don't get it out now, I never will," he said. "I'm...sorry for how I've treated you this year. I've been a jerk to you, and I think the reason was that I was just looking for an excuse to talk to you."

Hermione softened, looking up at him with her doe like eyes. "I accept your apology," she said with a toothy grin. "It wasn't very nice to be told that I was going to mishandle books every day."

"I imagine that got to you in particular," Adrian said with a roll of his eyes.

"But, I also need to apologize," Hermione added. "I've been such a little twit, and I've been so sure that I'm doing the right thing that I didn't even recognize the unfair treatment I sometimes get from professors and the Ministry. It wasn't fair for me to expect you to bend the rules for me, too, just because everyone else does."

Adrian felt a little bad that she was apologizing for that. "You can't really help how people treat you," he said, hoping that she didn't feel too guilty.

"But I don't have to _accept_ preferential treatment," she argued, a determined look on her face. "I don't want anyone to suspect that I got where I am because of anything but on my own merit."

Adrian gave her a shy smile, glad to hear that she was going to be more aware of the benefits that came with being Hermione Granger. But, he also recognized that she did have to deal with a lot being a muggleborn. He was going to try to be more compassionate about that, too.

"So, is that everything that you wanted to say to me, or is there any more?" she asked with a _very_ Slytherin looking smirk. She took a step forward to close the gap between them, until their chests were touching once again.

Adrian swallowed thickly. Even if there was anything else he wanted to say, he was certain it couldn't compete with Hermione. She was the picture of seduction in that moment. "Can't think of anything else I wanted to say," he said, his voice thick with lust.

"Good," she whispered. "Because I can't think of anything I'd rather do than kiss you right now."

"You really do?" he asked, still a bit stunned that his feelings might be returned. "Want to kiss me?"

She nodded, and started walking him back until his legs were hitting the settee. Adrian sat down with a thud, looking up at the witch who stood before him.

"Maybe like you, I didn't really put it together until today," Hermione agreed. "But I definitely want to spend the rest of the afternoon kissing you." Bold as ever, she pressed her hands to his shoulders and crawled on top of him, until she was straddling his lap, pressed intimately against him.

Adrian brought his hands to her waist to steady her, before nuzzling his face against her throat. He pressed featherlight kisses up and down the pale curve of her neck. "Is that so?" he asked, feeling effervescent to know that she felt the same.

"Mmhmm," she agreed, her fingers playing with the short hairs on the back of his neck. "Should have realized it with how much time I spent thinking about your arms."

He laughed. "My arms?" Adrian asked, pulling back to look at her face.

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "I didn't see why you needed to show off your biceps, picking up huge stacks of books anymore. I always thought you were pretty proud of your Quidditch physique. You sure love to roll your sleeves up."

Adrian pulled her down for a quick kiss, loving the way she melted against him immediately. "I should have known it was lugging around books that would have caught your attention, Granger," he said, unable to resist adding the kiss.

Hermione gave him a mock hurt look. "Shut up and kiss me, Pucey," she instructed, bossy as ever.

He felt a surge of heat pinball down his spine, hitting each and every vertebrae. "If you insist," he replied. He tangled one hand in that intriguing hair of hers, before pulling her in for a searing kiss. Parting his lips, she practically purred when he finally deepened their kiss, his tongue caressing hers.

Adjusting slightly, he pushed her back against the settee, ready to make good on her promise to snog away the afternoon together.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I know a lot of you were wondering what's been going on with Max, so enjoy his POV. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter fourteen and be on the lookout for chapter fifteen soon!

Max had his head completely buried in the most helpful book he could find about the theory of forward time travel, looking for _anything_ that would point him in the right direction. He couldn't forget about his ultimate mission here - getting back to his correct time. If everything went well, he was going to make sure his parents got together and then he would ride his time turner off into the sunrise of the future, with no one the wiser.

He wanted to have some more progress to share with Headmistress McGonagall, too, the next time he met with her. Max felt some irritation that the Headmistress so clearly doubted his skills. Already, he had _repaired_ the time turner, hadn't he? Eventually, he had to be able to figure it out.

Of course, he needed to get it perfect, though. He was somewhat nervous to jump forward in time, even just for a few seconds. That was where things could be horribly wrong.

"That is not a book about Quidditch," Malfoy's smug voice pulled him out of his research.

Max shut the book, the noises of dinner filtering back in. "Damn," he said, with a frown. "I think you are the only person who noticed the charm." He was a bit disappointed that Draco would be able to see through his work disguising the cover of his book.

"No one cares enough about sports to write a volume that large on it. Try the Goblin Wars next time," Malfoy said with a smirk. "What are you so focused on anyway? Time travel?"

Feeling his blood run cold, Max tried to read Malfoy's face to see how much he _knew_. "What makes you think that?" he questioned, cautiously. He pressed his hand protectively against the cover of the book.

"Well, I've only just put two and two together when I was talking to Granger before dinner," he said with a smirk. "You two have the same nose, did you know that? And the same habit being desperately distressed when you don't understand something."

"What are you suggesting?" Max asked, feeling his heart pound away in his chest. Malfoy was too close.

"I'm suggesting that you've traveled through time. And that your mother's name rhymes with Mermione Branger," Malfoy said with a laugh.

"Keep your voice down!" Max insisted, looking around, hoping that no one else heard him. Casting a quick _muffliato_ charm, he still couldn't even let himself relax a bit. He needed to keep his wits about him when he teased out what Malfoy actually knew. "How do you know?"

"I told you, it was her nose," Malfoy explained. "But I didn't put it all together until I was just talking to her and she mentioned that Adrian Pucey had asked her about me too. I couldn't figure out why you were so interested in the pair of them, but now it seems clear to me. So, am I right...Max Pucey?"

Annoyed that he'd been figured out - by Malfoy no less! - Max scowled. "You better not tell anyone, Malfoy," he said with a sneer. "Or I will make you very sorry."

"Assuming you have your mother's right hook and your father's strength, I tend to believe you," Malfoy answered, still looking exceptionally smug to have figured everything out. "But you could help keep me quiet by telling me about my own future. I assume Astoria is involved, since you told me she isn't just a passing fling."

"Me telling you _anything_ about your future could mean that it won't end up happening," Max said with a roll of his eyes. "But yes, since you've already figured it out, you will end up with Astoria."

"And are we happy together?" Malfoy asked, suddenly on the edge of a seat, looking rather like a little boy.

Max was struck by the vulnerability that the Slytherin was showing. For the first time since he'd known Malfoy, it seemed as if the blond truly wanted something so simple - to be happy with the witch he undoubtedly loved. He knew he could give him this little bit of assurance. "Yes, you are very happy with one another."

Malfoy relaxed, seemingly satisfied with his answer. "Good," he said with a small smile on his face, before he looked back up at Max. "So, Adrian must finally realize he's been panting over Granger for the whole year, huh?" he quipped. "Or else you wouldn't be around."

"That's the idea," Max snapped back. Even though he wanted his parents together, he really didn't need to think of the physical aspect of their relationship.

"Well, I've probably at least helped push him in the right direction," Draco said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"And how did you do that?" Max questioned, wanting nothing more than to be done with this conversation. Malfoy already knew too much about him and that made him a liability.

"I kissed Granger," he said, offhand. "Adrian saw and left in a jealous fit."

"You kissed my mum?" Max asked, his nostrils flaring. He felt a surprising amount of anger bubbling up inside of him when he thought of the blond's ferrety little face next to his mum. "That was _not_ a part of the plan!"

"Oh, so there was a plan was there?" Malfoy asked. "Would have been nice of you to fill me in on it."

"You were just supposed to make him jealous from seeing you talk to her," Max said, shoving his book into his bag, knowing that he was going to have to go do damage control now. Who knew how his father was going to react to it. "Kissing her was not part of it. What will Astoria think?"

"Already talked to her," he answered, leaning back into his seat. "She said it was the most pathetic looking kiss she'd ever seen, but she understood when I explained I was just doing it to get Pucey's head out of his own arse."

"You _told_ someone else?" Max fumed, wondering how Draco Malfoy would have thought that would ever be a good idea. Did he even understand how many variables he was introducing to the equation? Obviously not.

"Well, yeah, I had to tell her why I did it," he said. "And after all, she thinks Granger and Pucey are cute together."

"My parents aren't fodder for gossip, Malfoy," Max said firmly, possibilities running through his mind. "Why couldn't you just talk to her like a normal bloke?"

"Hey, I was just trying to help," he insisted, putting up his hands in a gesture of contrition. "And in any case, it seemed like it really worked. Adrian was in a snit when he saw us and stormed off. I'm sure he's in a downward spiral of realization right now. He's probably already planning on how to win her back."

Max stood up from the table abruptly, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Just do me a favor and stop helping for a bit, alright?" he said, his mind whirring, wondering just how he was going to fix this. His first step, though, would be to talk to his father.

"Where are you going?" Malfoy called after his retreating form. "Dinner's not over yet!"

"Damage control," he shouted back over his shoulder, before leaving the Great Hall.

The castle was empty, with all of the students eating at the feast, so Max made it back to the corridor that housed his room quickly. He stopped off in his apartments to drop off his book bag - he didn't need any more questions about why he was researching time travel.

He tried to prepare himself to face his father. Max didn't really have a good feel for how he would be feeling at that moment. There was a possibility that he was quite angry, mostly with himself for letting another wizard take his witch right from under him. Or, he might be quite upset, mourning the possibility of a relationship with Hermione. But, mostly, Max thought his father was going to be very embarrassed that he hadn't even _realized_ what his feelings were until it was "too late."

How could he let the older wizard know that it wasn't too late with Hermione? Maybe he could lie and say that Draco and Astoria had some kind of fight, so he just walked up to her and kissed the unsuspecting Gryffindor and she'd been too shocked to respond? But then, how would Max explain having all this additional information?

It was complex, and he didn't like flying into a situation with so many unknowns, but he knew he had to try, if only to save his parents relationship.

Marching over to Adrian's portrait, he knocked forcefully on the door. Straining his ears, he listened for any sign of movement, but all he could hear was a bit of rustling. So his father was _in_ at least.

Max knocked again, and this time he heard a great thump and what sounded rather like a giggle. Furious whispering followed, but with the portrait muffling everything, he couldn't make sense of who was talking or even how many people were in there. Had he invited his Quidditch buddies over to commiserate and didn't want to get caught?

He knocked a third time. "Um, Adrian, it's me Max," he said, tentatively. "Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

It felt like an eternity of shuffling feet, the portrait door finally swung open, revealing an irritated looking Adrian. Max looked his father up and down. Well, he didn't look like he'd been crying...

Adrian was slightly rumpled looking, with the top two buttons of his shirt undone. His hair was a bit mussed, too. Perhaps he'd been napping and Max had woken him up? Had he fallen off of the settee?

But no, that wasn't quite it either. His lips looked almost bruised, too. And he was slightly flushed, like he'd been exerting himself. It just didn't quite add up in Max's mind. This wasn't what he'd been preparing for at all.

"What did you need, Purney?" he asked, staring at him expectantly. His voice was graveley and deep, making it sound like a growl rather than a question. And when he shifted slightly, Max noticed a red mark on his neck, peeking out from behind his collar.

Sucking in a deep breath, Max was horrified to realize that his father might have had a witch over! Was he just drowning his sorrows over Hermione's new "romance" with Malfoy with someone else? Trying to show her that he wasn't hurt by her? That is the kind of false bravado Max could expect from a young wizard, but he thought his father would be smarter than that.

Panicked for a moment, Max tried to look around his father to see if there was any sign of the witch. "Uh, sorry, Adrian. Did you have company?" he asked, looking at the room. There was a dwindling fire in the hearth and the pillows on the couch were haphazard and some were on the floor, abandoned. "A witch maybe? Am I interrupting anything?"

Adrian scoffed. "If you don't have anything to ask, Purney, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said. "I'm not in the mood for your company tonight."

Before Max could argue any further, the portrait door was shutting in his face. He felt his stomach drop in horror, wondering if this was the horrid fate that Headmistress McGonagall had been alluding to whenever she warned him off of meddling with his parents' life. What if in trying to push them closer together, he'd actually wrenched them apart? Everyone seemed to think that they were interested in one another, and perhaps he should have just let them be.

But, he hadn't winked out of existence, yet, so that seemed to suggest that there was still some hope for him. He'd been thinking that making Adrian jealous was the right way to get him to realize his feelings for Hermione, but maybe he'd been going about it the wrong way.

Maybe making _her_ jealous was the key.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I am so glad you all enjoyed Max and his hijinks. He needs to do less, for real! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter fifteen and be on the lookout for chapter sixteen soon!

Although Hermione had never imagined how her first snog with Adrian Pucey would go (aside from a few vivid dreams that she _wouldn't_ acknowledge), she never would have imagined it ended by being smuggled out of his apartments via a window. She'd whinged to the wizard that she didn't like flying, but he promised that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He was _quite_ good at Quidditch, after all, he'd quipped with that smug air that he'd had since she revealed that his involvement in the sport was at least _part_ of the attraction.

Hermione was reminded that they didn't really have any other options. They both were convinced that Max would be lurking around in the corridor to see who Adrian's mystery guest was. They agreed it was better if he didn't know it was her; keeping Max in the dark that they were working together was their best bet to figure out who he really was and what his purpose was at Hogwarts. Adrian offered to let her stay over, but Hermione had shyly decided that _that_ would be too much too fast. After all, they had only just realized that they fancied one another.

In the end, Hermione had hopped on the back of his broom and out of the window. She wrapped her arms tightly around his middle and pressed her face into his back, unwilling to look at the ground below the castle when they were this high up. She was certain that his scent would be forever imprinted into her brain.

He deposited her safely in her own room in Gryffindor Tower, coming in when invited. Adrian had left her with a very passionate snog which nearly had her dragging him to her bed. He regretfully reminded her that it would defeat the purpose of him bringing her back, and left with a promise to see her the following day.

When she tucked herself into bed, her body still radiating pleasure from the realization that she _fancied_ Adrian Pucey and that he was an amazing kisser, Hermione recognized that him bringing her back was the best option. Hopefully, she would escape Ginny's notice of slinking back to the Common Room, too. Eventually, she knew that she was going to have to share the developments with her ginger friend, but for now, she wanted to reveal in the secret a bit longer.

The next morning, Hermione was annoyed to remember that she had never actually owled Harry about the Marauder's Map. Sitting down at her desk, she quickly penned him a note to request to borrow it, and decided that she would go send it off before breakfast.

She got ready for the day and couldn't hide the skip in her step. Ginny noticed immediately when she came down the stairs.

"Okay, you aren't getting out of it this time!" she said, with a look that would rival Mrs. Weasley. "Where were you last night? I didn't see you at all after potions."

"I had a headache," Hermione lied, not ready to tell the truth. "And so I went to bed right after classes. I swear that I slept for fifteen hours. And it's put me in such a good mood."

Ginny narrowed her eyes at her, making it clear that she did not entirely believe it. "Are you sure that's what happened?" she asked.

"Yes, I went right to bed," Hermione said, not allowing herself to bend to Ginny's scrutiny.

"That's weird," Ginny said with a frown. "Because I checked in your room and you weren't there. And your bed wasn't slept in either. Want to tell me the truth, Granger?"

Hermione sighed, knowing that she was finally found out. "Okay, but you can't tell anyone," she insisted.

"I would never," Ginny answered, suddenly serious.

"I was over at Adrian's apartment," Hermione said, quietly.

"Oh, Adrian, is it now?" Ginny asked, trying to fight the grin that tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Yes, and he and I have had a bit of a talk, and come to an understanding," Hermione continued, trying to ignore Ginny's excited reponses. "That he and I both like each other quite a bit. We spent the afternoon snogging and then he flew me back to my room."

"You snogged Adrian Pucey?!" Ginny practically shouted.

Hermione shoved her hand over Ginny's mouth. "Shut up!" she hissed. "We only just figured it out ourselves. We don't need the rest of the castle gossiping about it as well."

"Too late for that," Ginny answered. "It's been obvious to basically _everyone_ that the two of you have the hots for one another. I don't think anyone would be surprised that you finally snapped. So what was it like? The snog?"

She immediately sighed when she remembered the weight of Adrian's body pressing her back into the settee, the hot feel of his fingers gliding over her skin. "It was perfect," she answered. "I _really_ like him a lot. He's invited me back over tonight."

"I'm pleased for you," Ginny said, her happiness obvious. "I think you guys will work well together. Just don't go too fast."

"That's why he dropped me off," Hermione said. "But I will keep your sage advice in mind. My brain has a tendency to go a bit fuzzy whenever he is around."

"Aw, Hermione Granger, in love!" her younger friend sighed. "Well, shall we go off to breakfast then?"

"I'll meet you there," Hermione promised. "I have to stop off at the owlery to send a letter to Harry, but I will be right down."

With that agreed on, Ginny and Hermione went their separate ways. Casting a tempus charm, Hermione knew that she would have to hurry if she wanted to make it in time to eat more than just a piece of toast. The hallways were completely deserted, so at least she didn't have to go out of her way to avoid conversation with anyone.

Hermione selected a fast looking owl and attached her letter to its leg, before giving it instructions to deliver to Harry Potter. She hoped that it might make it to him in the early evening, and maybe he'd send the Marauder's Map back with Hedwig. She might even have the map delivered the following morning if she was lucky.

Thinking that her day was off to a great start, Hermione was eager to get down to breakfast, as she was starving from missing dinner the night before. She wasn't watching where she was going, and walked right into someone as she was leaving the owlery. "Oh sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," she said.

Looking up, she realized that it was Max. "It's no trouble at all," he answered. "Can I walk you down to the Great Hall?"

"I suppose," Hermione agreed. "What were you doing up here?"

"My apartment isn't too far away from here," he explained. "And I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. But it's always good to know where the owlery is. Who were you writing?"

"My friend Harry," Hermione answered. "But I don't really see how that's any of your business."

"Sorry, I was just trying to make friendly conversation," he answered. "My apartment is right next to Adrian Pucey's."

"Oh?" Hermione lied, pretending as if she didn't know exactly where they stayed in the castle. "And why would I care where Adr- where Pucey was staying?"

Max smiled at her. "I don't think that you would care about where he was staying of course," he replied, smoothly. "But I thought you might be interested in knowing that he had a lady friend over last night."

"He did?" Hermione squeaked out, completely unsure of where he was trying to go with this. Was he suggesting that he knew that she'd been over at Adrian's apartments the prior evening.

"Yes, and he looked well-loved if you know what I mean," Max continued. "I didn't hear her leave either. I don't think his room is set up for floo access, but maybe the Headmistress has given him special permissions because of his position at the Ministry."

 _Or she escaped out the window on broomstick_ , Hermione thought, hiding her smirk. "I don't know _why_ you think I would care what Pucey chooses to do with a witch or otherwise," she said firmly, hoping to end this topic of conversation firmly. "It's really none of _my_ business."

"Oh, to be sure, it makes sense that you wouldn't care," Max answered, trying to get a read on her face. "But, I just figured that if he was dating a witch that he might not be so strict in the library. If he's too busy snogging random witches, he won't have as much time to torment you."

Hermione swallowed. "That's...thoughtful of you to think of me," she said, hoping that it came off as disinterested.

Yes, she was sure that Adrian would spend much less time tormenting her in the library, now, but she wasn't sure that he wouldn't torment her in new ways. He seemed to enjoy trying to make her squirm by withholding his lips from her when she was literally arching towards him with desire.

She blushed furiously. "But, I'd really rather not think about Pucey more than strictly necessary, Max," she continued after a brief moment. "So, if you could please keep any future gossip about him to yourself, I would be grateful."

Max looked somewhat disappointed by her reaction, but agreed nonetheless.

Hermione was glad to see that they had finally reached the Great Hall, and she could part ways with Max. Finding her way to the Gryffindor tower, she thought over how strange it was that Max had given her the details about Pucey's love life. It was almost as if he was trying to ...make her jealous of him? Feeling a bit sick, she wondered if Max hoped she would fall into _his_ arms if she thought Pucey was no longer available.

But that couldn't be it either. If he was interested in _her_ surely he wouldn't spend all of his time avoiding her around the castle. Hermione was still annoyed that he'd managed to evade her. She was going to get to the bottom of that mystery one way or another.

She thought back to Malfoy's insistence that Max said he was looking for him, and then Max's cautious way that he informed her of Adrian's female visitor. It was almost like he was trying to make them both think that they had other romantic interests. But, it was poorly executed. Everyone in Hogwarts knew that Draco Malfoy was in love with Astoria Malfoy. No one would think that Hermione and Malfoy were having some sort of secret relationship.

And, in any case, how would Max know that either of them would care about the other romantically? Both she and Adrian had been very clear in their interactions with Max that they loathed one another (something that they had both believed to be true).

Max Purney was getting odder and odder. Taking a bite of her toast, Hermione determined to share the moment with Adrian that evening when she joined him in his apartment for dinner. It was a Friday night, so there would be no special need to rush back to Gryffindor tower. She was rather excited to have her first 'date' with him, even if most of their time would be spent researching the remaining census records.

They might be giddy in their new feelings for one another, but they were both very driven and wanted to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Maybe they could get permission from the Headmistress to go to Hogsmeade one evening for a real date. Surely, with Hermione's status as an eighth year, she could have special permission to go to the village _one_ extra time.

Smirking, Hermione wondered if Adrian would be willing to accept her getting _that_ sort of special treatment, if it only benefited him as well. It would be an fascinating character study when she ran it past him that evening.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! You can also follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter sixteen and be on the lookout for chapter seventeen soon!

Adrian couldn't deny that he was feeling a bit nervous to have Hermione over for dinner. He'd never had to arrange dinner for a witch before, and even though he wasn't doing any of the cooking (the Hogwarts house elves were more than happy to provide them dinner for two), he still wanted everything to go perfect. He didn't want to give Hermione any reason to question a relationship with him.

He _hoped_ that's where this was heading - a relationship.

They hadn't discussed just what they were to one another. There was always a chance that Hermione only saw him as a passing diversion until the school year was over. He didn't really think that sounded like something his witch would do, but you could never be too sure. It wouldn't do to get his hopes up only to have them dashed.

He was amused when Hermione knocked at his apartment door right on time. He was glad that he didn't have to wait around too long - she was such a punctual witch. After she came in, he stuck his head out of the portrait to look around for Max. Seeing no sign of the wizard, he turned to Hermione. "Did you see any sign of our mutual friend?" he asked.

"No," Hermione shook her head. "But he did try to warn me that you had a witch over last night. I don't know why, but I think he might be trying to make me jealous."

Adrian frowned. "He keeps getting stranger and stranger," he said. "I hope you know that I'm not trying to keep you a secret, what with sneaking you out last night. But there is something about Max that doesn't sit well with me."

"I completely understand," Hermione agreed. "Even if people knew that we were together, I'd not really want them to know how we spend every minute together. I've had enough of bad gossip."

He knew that she was talking about her rather unfavorable coverage in the Daily Prophet's pages, and he understood completely. "Of course," he said, leading her towards the couch in front of the fireplace. Even though it was rapidly becoming spring, having a little fire to sit in front of was still very cozy.

"In any case, it sounds like we might be the only two people who didn't know how we felt about each other," she said, looking down with a pretty blush on her cheeks. "I told Ginny. I hope you don't mind, but she wasn't surprised."

Adrian laughed a little bit. "Of course I don't mind if you tell your friends about me," he said with a grin. "If you don't mind that I tell mine."

"I don't mind," Hermione assured him. "But, do you mind if we keep it just to _close_ friends for right now? I would rather tell Harry and Ron myself and I don't need the rumor mill running wild and have them hear some kind of crazy story."

He knew that Ron Weasley in particular could jump to conclusions, certainly. He wondered if there was anything romantic between Hermione and Weasley. There had been a lot of discussion about it when he'd still been a student. "Of course," he agreed, thinking that it was smart.

If things went south, then he wouldn't look like a complete fool to all the students at Hogwarts.

"So, I was thinking that we could go through the rest of the census records and then have dinner," he offered, wanting to get through the business portion of their evening as quickly as possible. He wouldn't mind finishing where they left off before they were so rudely interrupted the night before.

She agreed and they split up the remaining records. It got easier as they went back through the years because the populations were smaller. But, even after combing through the census line by line, they found absolutely no mention of Max or a Purney family, leading them to the conclusion that they'd been facing all along.

"So, he's lying about who he is," Hermione said with a frown when she was finished. "Or where he's from."

"Or _when_ he's from," Adrian quipped.

She agreed. "I just wonder why he would do it. It seems as if he should have no reason to do so," Hermione said, obviously annoyed when she couldn't figure out the secret of Max Purney.

Before they could talk about him too much more, though, a house elf was popping in to bring them their dinner. It wasn't anything fancy, just what they were serving in the Great Hall for dinner, but on the table in his apartment it looked rather like a feast. Adrian offered her a bit of firewhiskey, which he was surprised to see her take.

"What?" she asked, defensively. "I'm of age."

"I just didn't think of you as a firewhiskey girl," he answered, before handing her a glass.

"Well, I don't really know if I am one, but I won't know if I don't try," she said, before taking a tentative sip. It was clear that it was _much_ stronger than she was expecting, but the more that she drank the more she relaxed into it.

Hermione was finding it hard to hide her smile. "It's been a long time since I've been on a date," she said shyly.

"I can say it's the same for me," Adrian told her. "My program is usually quite busy, so I don't have much time to socialize."

"Tell me more about your program. I didn't think that the Ministry usually coordinated with private masteries," Hermione said, obviously very interested in what he was studying.

"The end goal is to be a solicitor," Adrian explained, feeling pretty good about the work he'd accomplished so far. He worked very hard to achieve the future that he wanted. The Pucey family did not have the kind of cache that the Malfoys or the Blacks did, so he had always known he was going to have to work hard to get where he'd want to be. There was no cushy Ministry job waiting for him just based on his family name.

"You certainly have the talent for it," Hermione answered with a smirk, pushing her roasted brussel sprouts around her plate. "You argue better than anyone I know."

"I _do_ like to win disputes," he answered. "I know I can be a little stubborn sometimes, though."

"Well, I can't act like I'm not the same," Hermione said, before taking another small sip of firewhiskey. "So, your mastery will be in Magical History then?"

"Actually, Magical History is just a personal interest of mine," Adrian revealed, glad that he was able to share this side of himself with her. If anyone would understand a "boring" hobby like Magical History. None of his friends had progressed in classes beyond what was required. "The mastery is in Archival Research...a bit more suited to help set up a solicitor."

"And how does the Ministry come into play then?" she asked, still curious.

Adrian knew it was unusual. "They need all the help that they can get right now, and I needed a practical project to complete the Mastery," he said. "When I heard that the project was here at Hogwarts, it seemed like the best option that I had."

"You have to admit that it's a pretty nice job," she said with a smile. "And, it's nice to know that the Hogwarts library is in good hands."

"Oh? Now you think I'll do a good job with the restoration?" he teased, knowing that it was a frequent argument topic between the two of them.

"I've always thought you were doing a good job, Adrian," Hermione revealed, before reaching across the table to give his hand a quick squeeze. "Just...maybe too good of a job where I was concerned. Anyway, what is your plan once you're done?"

"I'll be finished with my mastery," Adrian answered, puffing out his chest a little with pride. "And I will start an apprenticeship with a Magical Law firm. I've already got an offer from Belby and Miller."

She made a face, perhaps because of her familiarity with Marcus Belby, the useless nephew of Dehlia Belby.

"Hey, they are the best," he answered, knowing that it was a very high profile apprenticeship to nab. He could probably start his own practice after five years, if he stuck to his plans.

They were finished with their dinner, Adrian felt he'd exhausted his discussion about his job, and was embarrassed that he wasn't really sure what Hermione was going to do after Hogwarts. "What are your plans once you leave school?" he asked, curious. The world was Hermione's oyster, surely.

Hermione bit her lower lip while she thought over what she wanted to say. "You know, I still haven't really decided," she revealed, scrunching her nose, as though she were revealing some huge secret. He was sure that she hadn't shared this with anyone else. "I know that a lot of people want me to go into magical law enforcement, but I don't want to be an auror. Defense Against the Dark Arts was never my strongest suit."

"It's hard to believe that," Adrian quipped. "You helped take down You-Kn0w-Who and the Death Eaters."

She blushed again. "I mostly supported Harry," she said. "The truth is, I just don't know what I want to do. I don't feel like I'm done learning...I suppose I will go for a mastery myself. If I could ever pick a subject."

Adrian could understand where she was coming from, having one or two subjects that were fascinating to him and difficult to choose between. He'd made the choice to go with the career path that was more profitable. "Which are you choosing between?"

"Oh, I love Arithmancy," Hermione said, excitedly. "But, my best subject is probably Charms."

"Sounds like you have the makings of a curse breaker," Adrian told her. "I bet you'd do well at Gringotts."

"I don't know if you heard," Hermione said with a laugh. "But the goblins don't really like me."

He _had_ heard that she'd freed one of their dragons, he remembered. "Well, if they still won't take you on," Adrian said. "When I'm a solicitor, I will sue them for you."

"Oh, you'd do that for me?" she teased. "An expensive solicitor like yourself? I don't know if I'll be able to afford you."

"I'd do it out of the goodness of my heart," he lied, standing up. Offering her his hand, he helped her stand up from the table and lead her towards the couch. "And maybe a kiss or two, if you're up for it?"

Hermione grinned, eagerly taking her place at his side on the couch, not letting his hand go. "I suppose that's a small price to pay," she said cheekily. Then, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.

Adrian deepened the kiss almost immediately, hungry for her even though he'd kissed her less than twenty four hours prior. The newness of their relationship made him feel like he'd drunk a bottle of champagne on his own, warm and eager. He wanted nothing more than to suck on her neck and leave little love bites so that people would see and know that Hermione Granger was spoken for.

He grinned against her lips when he felt her greedy little fingers sneak under his shirt and ghost against his skin. Adrian knew that she was just as excited with him as he was with her. Pulling away briefly, Adrian looked down at her. "Would you like to go somewhere a little more comfortable?" he asked.

She bit her lip again. "You mean...like your room?" she asked, with eyebrow raised.

Adrian shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to push her too fast. "If you wanted to," he offered.

Hermione hopped up from the settee faster than he would have guessed, before pulling him up by his hand. Once he was returned to his full height, she gave him a shy smile. "Well, then," she teased. "Lead the way."


	17. Chapter 17

For the first time since ending up in the past, Max was beginning to feel horribly out of his depth. Previously, he had felt so confident that he knew what he was doing in regards to his parents, but now he had no idea what direction to go to. He'd thought using Malfoy to make his father was a smart play, but it seemed like his father had found some other witch to bury his sorrows in. _Then_ , he'd thought he could make his mum jealous, but she just seemed annoyed that he was talking to her about Adrian Pucey at all.

He could finally concede that maybe he should have listened to Minerva McGonagall and just let things work out as they were meant to. He'd be weeks ahead on his miserable time turner project at least.

But now that he'd messed things up, it wasn't as if he could just stop. He _needed_ to be born, even if that meant sitting them down before he returned to his future and just telling them the truth.

That was a last resort, though, and one he hoped to avoid. Seeing as it was the fault of his father's friends for mentioning Draco Malfoy in the first place, Max sent a letter to Graham (who he knew to be the most responsible of his father's friends) to call for an _emergency_ meeting of Operation: First Comes Love, as he'd been calling it.

Graham wrote back with instructions to floo over to Cassius's flat the following morning, which Max was happy to see. Hopefully the trio of Slytherins would be able to advise him about how to proceed next. He really hoped he wasn't going to have to break up his father and his new mystery witch.

Max wouldn't dream of asking Headmistress McGonagall for permission to leave the school grounds, so he did what any self-respecting Slytherin would do. He snuck out.

The whole of Saturday, Max wandered around the castle, talking to whoever he could with the aim of being seen by as many students and professors as he could be. Then, after sunset, he went for a walk on the school grounds. Using his time turner, he quickly rolled back the hours until it was morning again and walked off in the direction of the Three Broomsticks. From there, he floo'ed to Cassius's.

That way, no one would notice his absence.

Cassius Montague's flat was very much what he would expect for a young bachelor, but it was a polar opposite to the sprawling country house that the man would occupy in the future. Marcus and Graham had already arrived as well, and they appeared to be at least a pint in when he arrived.

"Really?" he asked, crossing his arms in annoyance. "You couldn't wait for me to get here. I told you that this was an emergency," he hissed.

Graham burst out laughing. "If that wasn't Granger, I don't know who's kid you are," he said with a snort, which only served to make Max more annoyed.

"Ease up, kid," Marcus said in his typically gruff way. "It's Puddlemere away today."

"How can you be thinking about Quidditch at a time like this?" Max countered, still feeling annoyed. "My parents might not end up together - they might not have their happily ever after - and you are more concerned with getting pissed and watching a game? Isn't Adrian your friend?"

"Of course he is," Cassius assured him, taking a measured approach. "Why don't we take a few steps back and you can tell us what the big emergency is? I am sure we can get it sorted in time to head to the Quidditch match."

Max was still irked that they seemed to think this would be such an easy fix, when he had been working on getting his parents together for weeks with no luck. They hadn't been doing any of the hard work and they had no idea how bad the situation on the ground had gotten. He wondered what they would think of his mum's total indifference to the idea of his father being with another witch.

Taking an offered pint with a frown, Max followed the other wizards as they walked to the little seating area, before everything spilled out of him. "I decided to move forward with making my father jealous. I spoke with Draco Malfoy," he started. "But the dumb little ferret decided to come up with his own plans and kissed her right in front of him."

"Malfoys always think they know what's best," Cassius said with a roll of his eyes.

"But how did Adrian take it?" Marcus prodded.

"Well, I wasn't actually _there_ to see his reaction, but apparently he stormed right off in the other direction," Max said, letting his eyes drop to his lap when the severity of the situation washed over him again. How had he managed to mess this up so horribly?

"And how did Granger react?" Graham asked. "I can't imagine that she just sat there and let Malfoy kiss her."

"Reckon she punched him again?" Cassius quipped, catching Max off guard.

"Mum punched Malfoy?" Max asked, confused.

"Nevermind that," Graham shook him off. "What did she do when Malfoy kissed her?"

Max felt his cheeks grow hot. "Well, I don't actually know, as I said, I wasn't there when it happened. And I didn't ask Malfoy about what _she_ did. But that's not even the worst thing."

"Go on," Marcus encouraged, fighting a smirk.

"Apparently my father found some mystery witch to bury his jealousy into," Max said, feeling disappointed in his father, that he would do something like that on a whim. "I went to his room and when he answered the door it was _very_ obvious that he had been snogging someone for a while, and I think I heard her still in there, even though I didn't catch a look at her."

"Well, I can't say that really _sounds_ like something Ades would do," Cassius said, scratching at his chin. "But maybe Malfoy was enough to get under his skin."

"I guess," Max said. "Anyway, I figured, if I couldn't make _him_ jealous, I could make mum jealous. After all, she is definitely a witch that doesn't share."

"How'd you plan on doing that?" Graham asked, not sounding particularly concerned.

"I told her that Adrian had some kind of mystery witch," Max answered.

Again, Marcus was not able to contain his laughter. "What? Just like that?" he questioned.

"Well, I did it under the guise of maybe he wouldn't bother her quite so often in the library if he was preoccupied with this other witch," Max said with a frown, upset that they didn't approve of his methods.

"I thought that was kind of like their foreplay," Cassius said with a smirk. "The arguing, I mean. Why would Granger want to give that up?"

Trying to keep the mental image of his parents like that _out_ of his brain, Max made a face at Cassius's words. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway, because mum couldn't have been bothered in the slightest!" he nearly shouted. "She was completely indifferent to who my father was dating or otherwise. I'm beginning to think she didn't like him as much as everyone seems to suggest."

He felt really down confiding about this to someone else. If anything, it only seemed to highlight his failure. He stared into the foam of his half-drunk beer before swallowing the rest of it, the cold liquid anchoring in his belly like a weight. Salazar, he hoped things could be salvaged, but he was starting to worry that Graham, Cassius and Marcus weren't the right answer. They just weren't even taking him seriously. Maybe Ginny Weasley could be consulted?

"I think we can help set your mind at ease, kid," Marcus said eventually.

"Get under a disillusionment spell, there is something that we want to show you," Graham said.

Intrigued, Max did as he was told and cast the spell on himself, shuddering at the sensation of cold water running down his back. He watched as the three men crowded around the fireplace, before placing a floo call to Adrian Pucey himself.

It only took a few moments for his father's head to appear in the flames, his hair still looking slightly ruffled. He wore a scowl on his face.

"Adrian!" the trio shouted in amusement, playing up their drunkenness.

"It's match day!" Marcus cried. "Are you coming down to London to watch the match with us or not?"

"Didn't you get my owl?" his father groused back. "Typical of you lot, the first time you invite me for a day out in ages and I find myself with some plans of my own."

"And do your plans involve a witch?" Cassius asked, wagging his eyebrows.

"You know that I've got a date," Adrian said with a scowl. "Did you guys really forget what I wrote in the letter _already_?"

"'Course not," Graham answered casually. "We just thought you might be pulling our legs. Can't believe that Hermione _bloody_ Granger would actually agree to have anything to do with you. Besides, last we chatted it seemed like you hated her."

His father smirked. "I guess I just hated the idea of some other wizard snatching her up," he said with a smirk. "But now that I've got her all to myself, I'm quite attached to the idea of her."

"And she doesn't mind you gossiping about her to your friends?" Marcus said with a big grin. "Because if so...we are going to need details."

"Ha!" his father laughed, obvious joy on his face. "We agreed to tell close friends only right now while things are fresh. So I better not read about this in Witch Weekly, Cassius, or I will know that it's you that's spilled the beans."

"I wouldn't!" Cassius defended himself.

"Alright, well, I can see that a witch in your bed won't compete with a day out with your mates at Quidditch," Graham said with a grin. "Get back to Granger before she can rethink putting up with _you!_ "

The friends all laughed in agreement, and eventually Adrian was wishing them a fun day out and cutting the floo connection.

Max dropped the disillusionment spell immediately, letting his absolute shock show. "So now I know why mum wasn't jealous!" he said, feeling a little annoyed with himself. "How could she be jealous of a mystery witch when the witch was herself?"

"So, would you say that the status of Operation _:_ First Comes Love can be downgraded from emergency?" Graham asked with a pointed look at the younger wizard.

"I'd say they might even be skipping forward to Operation: Then Comes A Baby by the look of Ades!" Cassius said with a bawdy grin that had Max's face going positively _red_. He did _not_ want to think of his parents like that at all.

"If you knew about this, why didn't you just tell me?" he asked, annoyed that they'd let him stay in a state of perpetual agony, thinking that he'd gotten himself unborn.

"Just wanted to see how much you'd sweat," Marcus said with a shrug of his massive shoulders. "Now, you better get to running back to Hogwarts so that we can go enjoy our Quidditch match in peace."

Max could agree with that. He needed to get back to the school as soon as possible. Now that his parents were sorted, he had limited time to figure out the forward time travel or else the Ministry would be involved, whether he liked it or not.

But, he also knew that he couldn't leave the trio of Slytherins with knowledge of his ever being there. Who knew if they would spill the beans to his father when he returned to his proper time. No, even though it was highly unethical, he knew that it had to be done. On his way out of Cassius's flat, he oblivated the three of them, removing any knowledge of Max Pucey from their minds.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I am so glad you liked the Slytherins - I love sharing all my little headcanons about them for sure. You can follow me over on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter eighteen and be on the lookout for chapter nineteen soon!

It was growing difficult for Hermione to contain her excitement over the new developments between her and Adrian. Their date the night before had been lovely, and it was exciting to learn a little bit more about what he was like. He was certainly an ambitious wizard, and he wasn't embarrassed about going after what he wanted, something that Hermione personally thought she could learn a little bit from. He'd given her some great advice about her own career path, too, not belittling her desire to pursue a mastery like some of her friends would, not understanding the desire to keep learning.

She had not needed any convincing at all to accompany him to his bedroom where they continued where they left off. Hermione was quickly becoming addicted to his kisses. He knew that he was a good snogger, but wasn't too full of himself about it. He learned exactly what she liked, seeming to take pride in making her gasp or moan in delight.

Hermione had also been a little too keen to get his shirt off, taking her time to appreciate the muscles that his time playing Quidditch had built. She was still a little embarrassed to realize how much she liked it, but she now thought she could spend the rest of her life cradled in his strong arms and be happy.

That was probably jumping the gun, though.

Adrian had been equally reciprocal in his worship of her own body. He made her feel exceptionally pretty when she saw the way that his eyes darkened and his pupils widened when long fingers traced up her curves. Godric, if this was a dream, she was sure that she never wanted to wake up.

But it wasn't a dream. After they'd had their fill of one another, it was far too late for Hermione to think about returning to Gryffindor Tower, and so Adrian had offered her an undershirt of his to sleep in. It was very intimate to share a bed together, especially so soon, but it didn't feel odd to be wrapped up in his arms. It felt perfect.

Hermione could have spent all of Saturday lounging in the bed with him, but Adrian was unfortunately disturbed by a floo call. She listened in and heard him chatting to a couple of his friends, telling them about her. It was nice that he wasn't trying to keep her hidden and wasn't embarrassed to be dating a muggleborn. They hadn't really talked about his opinion on blood purity, but she knew that his family had not been Death Eaters. It was a conversation that they would _have_ to have eventually, but there was no need for it now.

Hearing them rib him for actually getting her to speak to him made her smile, and she was even more sure than ever that she was going to tell Harry and Ron.

When Adrian returned to his room, Hermione was already halfway dressed. "Leaving so soon?" he asked, not hiding his disappointment.

"Yes, I do have to take care of a few things today," Hermione said, pulling her jumper over her head. "I am going to owl Harry and Ron about you. And then I thought I would go ask Headmistress McGonagall for _special_ permission to visit Hogsmeade tonight. I thought you might be up for a date tonight...that is, if you don't mind spending all of your time with me."

"Of course not," Adrian said with a grin. "Who else am I going to spend time with?"

Hermione knew that he had just turned down Quidditch plans, so she certainly wasn't his only option, but it was a lovely sentiment nonetheless. Pushing to her tiptoes to give him a lingering kiss goodbye, Hermione set off in the direction of the owlery.

Deciding to just tell them about Adrian in a letter rather than in person, Hermione hoped that Ron would get his worst behavior out away from her, where she was least likely to get hurt. Hopefully it would give them time to adjust to the idea of her seeing a Slytherin. It also cut down on the chance of them finding out from anyone else but her...who knew when they would be able to meet her in person with their auror training.

She also made sure to include a reminder to Harry about borrowing the Marauder's Map if he could send it.

After that, she was off to the Headmistress's office to ask about visiting the village that evening. McGonagall quickly gave her permission, without even looking up from her papers. "Off to Scrivenshaft's, Miss Granger?" she asked.

"Actually, the Three Broomsticks, Headmistress," Hermione responded matter-of-factly. "I am planning on having a date tonight."

 _That_ certainly got McGonagall's attention. "Well, I normally wouldn't give special permission for something like that Miss Granger," she said a bit sternly. "But you are of age and perhaps your eighth year status affords you a bit more leeway. Please, do not make me regret this."

"I won't, I promise," Hermione agreed, knowing that she wasn't about to do anything to jeopardize it. Hopefully, she and Adrian could take several more dates there together before the school year was over. It was just the Three Broomsticks, but at least it was a way to get out of the castle for a little bit.

And it might get Max off of the trail of Adrian's mystery witch, Hermione thought with a smirk.

With that confirmed, she found Adrian in the library and told him to meet her in the Great Hall that evening so they could walk down together. Then, she _finally_ returned to Gryffindor Tower so that she could get ready for her date and face the barrage of questions she was certain to get from Ginny. As long as Ginny could help her pick out an outfit at the same time, Hermione was willing to entertain the interrogation.

It was nice to have a bit of girl time with her friend, who helped her put together a nice looking outfit from her trunk. They chatted a bit more about Adrian and Hermione had to tell Ginny that she wasn't sure if they were _official_ just yet, or if they were still in the process of getting to know one another. But, Hermione sincerely hoped that it would grow into something more. She found that she really liked Adrian far more than she ever expected to.

Before she knew it, the time they had agreed to rolled around and Hermione had to bolt down from Gryffindor Tower to the Main Hallway where she was meeting Adrian. "You look great," she said, feeling her mouth go a bit dry when she saw him looking so dapper in a set of trousers, smart jumper and a perfectly tailored cloak.

Adrian gave her hand a squeeze. "You look stunning yourself," he said, his eyes still a bit wide when he saw how well she cleaned up. Hermione could admit that Ginny had worked some magic on her wardrobe to find something that was actually suitable for a date. Hermione was glad that he liked the way her jumper-turned-dress (thanks to some creative tailoring charms!) fit her.

They made their way together out into the cold, though the promise of warmer days lingered in the bitter night air. The end of the school year was not far off, and with it Hermione's NEWT exams, and the end of Adrian's mastery project. Hermione gingerly talked about what might happen between the two of them when they both left Hogwarts.

Adrian told her about the flat that he already had in London, and Hermione told him of her intentions to move into Grimmauld Place with Harry and Ron until she could find somewhere more suitable to live. She was relieved that he didn't seem overly bothered by the idea of her living with two men, but she supposed that he must know how important the boys were to her. If he was going to be irrationally jealous they should probably just quit while they were ahead.

"So, are you sure that you don't mind that I told my mates that we are together?" he asked, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, obviously nervous.

"Of course I don't mind," Hermione said. "So long as they don't just seem me as some...some slag I guess."

"They would never suggest that," Adrian said, seriously (perhaps concerned about his friends' wellbeing if Hermione thought they would think of her that way). "But, they would never think that if it were my girlfriend I was with."

Although she heard what he said, his words didn't really register in her mind, because she was too distracted by a dark form on the edge of the forest when they approached the school gates. "Is that Max?" she asked, feeling a bit stunned.

"What? How can you even bring him up at a time like this?" Adrian asked, clearly irked.

"No, it is him, look!" Hermione said, before pointing at the other wizard skulking about, being incredibly suspicious. "What is he doing?"

"Hermione, please, I'm trying to ask you to be my girlfriend," he whined, though he did look at where she was pointing. "Okay, but what _is_ he up to?" he added, his curiosity suddenly piqued.

Hermione strained her eyes, but if she looked hard enough, it looked like he was taking something out of his pocket. And then, he was putting whatever it was around his neck. And then, in the blink of an eye he was vanishing out of sight.

Gasping and grabbing Adrian by the upper arm, she turned to look at her new boyfriend. "I know how he was disappearing in the castle!" she said eagerly, before realizing that she'd never given him an answer. Pressing up onto her toes, she gave him a quick kiss. "And I'd be delighted to be your girlfriend."

Adrian returned her smile. "Well that's a relief," he said sheepishly. "I don't like competing with another wizard for your attention. But you _have_ to tell me now - what's his secret?"

"He is using a time turner," Hermione said, with a triumphant smirk on her lips. "Trust me - I used one in third year, and I'm positive that's how he's been sneaking around."

"What?" Adrian asked, sounding shocked. "Who gave you a time turner in third year?"

"McGonagall," Hermione said, off-handedly. "But, isn't this wonderful - now we know that he really _is_ from another time. And, I've just realized...we've been looking for him in the past, but really, he is more likely from the future. Time turners go _back_ in time, afterall."

"I have so many more questions for you," Adrian said with a shake of his head. "But, I'm going to freeze if we stand out here much longer. Proposal to continue onto the Three Broomsticks?"

"Accepted," Hermione said eagerly, thinking that it would be nice to warm up in one of the booths by the big fireplace at the little pub. She was keen for some dinner and maybe a butterbeer, too. "I'm not letting Max distract me out of a date. He'll still be here tomorrow...I think."

The walk was not too far and, in their good company, went quickly. The new couple spent most of their time plotting how they were going to confront Max with their knowledge and how they were going to figure out what he wanted. It didn't take much convincing on Adrian's part to let him try it his way, as so far, Hermione had come up hopelessly empty handed where Max was concerned.

But once they made it to the cheerful little pub, they pushed all conversation about Max aside and endeavored to just enjoy one another's company for a change, with Adrian sharing a few silly stories about his time on the Slytherin Quidditch squad and Hermione giving him a complete explanation of her use of the time turner. She even shared details about Buckbeak's escape, though, only after swearing him to secrecy. She didn't fancy being prosecuted for something like that now, though she was sure she would have one top notch solicitor in her corner in the form of her new boyfriend.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! Hermione and Adrian are moving in the right direction now, aren't they? You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter nineteen and be on the lookout for chapter twenty soon!

After Max got back from meeting with his father's friend, he knew that he had to buckle down and start researching how to get back to his proper time. He'd been far too focused on his parents' romance and he'd made an embarrassing amount of progress on forward time travel, though he was still impressed that he'd repaired the time turner into working condition. Max refused to allow himself to be sucked into the limbo of Ministry research.

He walked right to the library and chained himself to his favorite desk in the mezzanine level, sure to avoid the original copy of himself wandering about the castle until the end of the day. He'd located books that stacked around his desk like a prison, determined to take as many notes as he possibly could. Max planned on spending the night thinking on it, before he could do some more testing the following day.

Eventually, he was going to have to bold and try to go farther forward than just a few seconds, even though it was really a terrifying prospect.

He remained in the library until the sun had set and there were no more students left in the library. Madam Pince gave him a look telling him it wasn't worth begging for a few more minutes of time. Instead, he used his wand to return the books to their correct place, before gathering up his notes and making the lonely walk back to his apartments.

Max's stomach grumbled and he realized that he hadn't eaten since he left in the morning. Maybe when he got back to his room, he could beg the house elves to take pity on him and bring him a turkey sandwich. He was so tired, though, he thought he might just collapse in his bed and sleep for twelve hours straight.

Before he could register what was happening, a pair of hands shot out of a portrait and pulled him into a room. Stunned, Max fumbled for his wand, wondering how he'd been snuck up on, when he heard his mum's prim voice disarming him.

He looked stunned to realize that it was his father that was holding him. "Alright you little sneak," Adrian said, fiercely. "We know your secret."

"Wh-what secret?" Max stuttered out, his mind still reeling over what had happened. His stomach sunk when he thought that they might have pieced together that he was _their_ child, and based on Adrian's annoyed expression, he didn't seem so thrilled about that.

"That you are a time traveler," Hermione said with a frown, carefully watching Max's face for any hint of confirmation.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Max lied through his teeth, struggling to break free from his father's firm grasp.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione marched over to him and stuck her hand in his pocket. She pulled out the time turner that he'd carried with him everywhere since landing in the past. Letting the device swing on it's golden chain, she arched an eyebrow. "Care to explain this?" she asked.

Max could feel himself deflating, embarrassed that he'd gotten caught. "Fine, you got me," he said with a frown. "But how did you know?"

"We saw you using it out on the grounds tonight," Adrian explained. "And with how easily you can disappear all over the castle, we knew that you must be up to something."

"You are a difficult tail to shake," Max said with a smirk, his heart softening with fondness for his mum's tenacity. "If a bit obvious. But what did I ever do to catch your attention?"

His parents looked at each other, communicating how much to reveal using just their eyes. It was something that they did in his proper time and he was struck by a bolt of homesickness. Apparently they decided that they could tell him the truth.

"You were...overly attentive of the two of us when you first got to Hogwarts," Adrian said diplomatically. "And it made the two of us suspicious that you were not who you said you were. A little bit of research confirmed that."

Max felt all the tension leave his body when he realized that they had no idea he was the product of their union. He was glad that he did not have to explain that he was their son, because he was concerned it would really cause too much tension. Honestly, he had just been able to ensure that they got together at all - he didn't need things to go off the rails if the thought of such a future together was too much for them to contemplate at that moment.

"Do you care if we sit down?" he offered, raising his hands in submission. "I think I've shown that I'm not going to fight back at this point. After all, you have my wand."

Adrian let him go eventually, before steering Max to sit on the couch in front of the fire. The two of them sat next to each other, close enough to touch. They both looked somewhat dressed up, and Max wondered if they'd been on a date. Before the conversation could resume, Max's stomach made a noise in protest of it's lack of food.

"Apologies, it seems like I've missed dinner...and lunch," he said with a grin.

Adrian called for a house elf, who was quickly sent off in search of some food for the younger wizard. Once they were left alone again, Max was treated to Adrian's narrowed eyes once again. "What we haven't been able to figure out is why you were so interested in the two of us," he said, pointedly. "Care to explain what caught your interest?"

Max swallowed, wondering how he should approach this without giving anything away. "I guess...when I arrived here in the library, it really felt like I interrupted _something_ between the two of you," he said. "And I hated the idea that you wouldn't get it back. So I just wanted to see if I'd ruined something by showing up when I did."

Hermione gave Adrian a tiny grin. Feeling bold, Max couldn't help but give himself a pat on the back. "And it seems like I would have," he said with a grin. "If your suspicions of me hadn't brought you back together."

"You really didn't need to worry about us," Hermione insisted. "It was unnerving to have you constantly pushing us on one another."

Max felt a blush on his cheeks when he was forced to confront just how badly he'd messed up in bringing his parents together. If he hadn't been so certain that they were meant to be with one another, he probably wouldn't have meddled so much.

"So, what time are you from, anyway?" Adrian asked, looking at him sharply. "Do you know us or something?"

Furiously shaking his head, Max tried to head off that line of questioning as quickly as possible. "You _know_ that you shouldn't be asking those kinds of questions. Think of the kind of damage that could be done if you learn something you aren't meant to know," he insisted, thinking that it was rich coming from him.

"He's right, I suppose, though it is hard not to ask," Hermione told Adrian with a smirk. "Well, then, what are you still doing here then? Surely the Ministry should have isolated you already."

"Well, here's the thing," Max said, sounding guilty. "I pleaded with Headmistress McGonagall and she gave me a month to try and sort getting myself back to my own time, without involving the Ministry."

"And how much time do you have left?" Adrian asked, obviously trying to gather all the facts before he could advise on the situation.

"Uh, less than a week," Max said, feeling terribly embarrassed.

"And just what have you accomplished in the last three weeks?" the other wizard asked sharply, annoyed at the thought of so much time squandered when they could have been helping.

Max wasn't entirely sure what to say. "Well, I was able to repair the time turner successfully. I've done many tests over the past few weeks and I have confirmed that it does work properly to turn back time," he said, wanting to get all the positives out first. "Unfortunately, I've not made as much progress going _forward_ in time. I'm a bit nervous to make the leap if I'm honest."

"It's impressive that you've been able to turn time forward at all," Hermione said helpfully. "After all, it's still only theoretical here. There must have been massive improvements in time magic where you've come from. How far have you gone?"

Again, Max was feeling rather embarrassed with all the time that he'd wasted. "Just a few seconds," he explained. "Again, it's really hard to trust that the theory will actually work."

Hermione looked a bit crestfallen to see how hopeless Max's project really seemed, before a determined look came over her face. "Well, between the three of us, I am sure we can figure out a way to get you back," she said, pleasantly.

"What?" Adrian and Max asked at the same time.

"Well, of course we are going to help you get back to your proper time, now that we know that you're a time traveler," Hermione said smartly. "And I've actually got several theories myself of forward time travel that I've been wanting to test out, only, I haven't been able to get my hands on a time turner again."

Adrian rolled his eyes at her, though he looked amazed. Obviously, he thought very highly of his new girlfriend. "Of course you do, Granger," he said with a smirk.

Hermione hit him on the arm. "Oh, shut up, Pucey," she countered. "And anyway, I'm surprised you haven't realized that you can use the time turner to give yourself as much time as you need to go back and do the research."

"How do you mean?" Max asked, feeling a little bit dumb that he couldn't even understand what she was saying.

"Well, if you are getting too close to the one month time limit, you can just use the time turner to go back and do more research," she explained, sounding rather like she did when she talked to Uncle Harry or Uncle Ron, Max thought sheepishly.

He frowned, embarrassed. "I can't believe I didn't think of that."

"You'd have to go somewhere that you wouldn't be noticed of course," she said. "But I think the Room of Requirement might have begun to repair itself enough that you could hang out in there. Or maybe you'd just become nocturnal and hide away during the day."

"That is brilliant, Hermione!" Max said, pleased that he was able to work _with_ his parents, instead of against them. If there was anyone who was going to be able to help him out with the time turner, it was his mum after all.

When he looked up, Adrian was pressing a kiss to her temple, very proud of her. He knew that he could rest easy seeing how happy they were with one another.

However, he also knew that their relationship was still _very_ new and he had absolutely no plans to be sitting in the same room as them should the quick kiss turn into something more. "Well, I should probably be on my way...let the two of you enjoy the rest of your evening," he said, hoping they didn't notice the pained look on his face. "So, if you'll just give me back the time turner, I'll leave you alone."

Hermione pursed her lips and shook her head. "No, I think that I will hold onto this for now, just to ensure that you come back to meet with us tomorrow," she said, bossy as ever. "You better get some sleep, Purney, because the next few days are going to be the most intensive magical research you've ever done."

Max didn't need to be told twice and marched off to bed, feeling more confident that everything was going to work out than he had in weeks.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! I cannot believe how quickly this story is coming to an end - I don't want to say goodbye to Max! You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-one soon!

Max was really lucky to have her around to help him, Hermione thought smugly when they met in the library the following morning. He'd made a good dent on the available time magic materials and produced some good notes, but it was nothing like what she had accumulated over the years. She proudly presented her extensive research to Adrian and Max and sat back while she waited for them to read over everything.

It was really odd to see the two of them sitting next to each other, as they really had many similarities to one another. Not that it was going to change Hermione's mind - there was still something about Max that made her stomach churn if she thought about kissing him. No, she was sure that Adrian was the wizard for her. When she looked at him, it was like her heart got an electric shock and skipped a beat. And now that she had some real life experience with him, he certainly had an effect on her body that she simply couldn't deny.

Flushing, she realized that it probably wasn't a good idea to go off fantasizing about her boyfriend when they had a third party involved. Plus, she wanted her mind fresh should they have any questions to ask her about her research.

Eventually, after going through all of the papers, Max looked up with a hint of disappointment on his face. "Well, you've just got it all figured out, don't you?" he asked.

Hermione was shocked. "Yes, I mean...just theoretically. I've never tested it," she explained. "But, I don't understand why you are upset about it? Shouldn't you be pleased? This means that you will get to go home."

"I just..." Max trailed off, trying to figure out _what_ he wanted to say. "It's just hard to know that what I was going to do wasn't really novel work at all. I thought that I was going to be on the cutting edge - discovering something about time magic, and here you've been sitting on these notes for who knows how long!"

She could understand how he felt, having had the same thing happen to her before involving a little known charm to file and organize loose papers. "Don't feel so bad, you've made remarkable progress in just a few weeks," she said diplomatically. "I _have_ been working on this in my spare time for years."

Adrian had been surprised to learn about her third year, using the time turner, surprised that she had actually _wanted_ to take Divination, especially with her well known hatred for it. Hermione had explained her desire to learn everything magical, having come from the muggle world. If it hadn't been for the awful way Professor Trelawney had treated her, Hermione might have continued with the study, even if she wasn't particularly good at it. As it stood, she found the whole practice rather useless.

"And, if it makes you feel any better, it will actually be _you_ who is moving through time, not here," Adrian said. "I think that people would be more likely to remember the person who actually tried something out, not just the person who created the theory."

Hermione felt a little bit cross at that, hoping that something like that didn't happen. It would make her really sore if Max Purney just swaned in and stole all her hard earned glory.

"I guess you are right," Max said, finally getting some pep back in his step. "Also, I did repair the time turner. I bet you never did that, right?"

"No, but-"

"And I have already successfully moved forward in time, even if it was only for a few seconds," Max continued on.

Suddenly, Hermione did not feel the need to stroke his ego any longer. She wondered if Max knew of her in the future. Maybe he was just trying to best the great Hermione Granger? A witch could hope, she supposed.

"Well, do you think we should get started and begin testing," Hermione questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You've gone forward a few seconds, but it's hard to know how successful it actually was. Maybe we start out with a minute?" She passed the golden time turner across the table towards the other wizard.

Max took it, scoffing at the idea that he hadn't been successful in his initial testing. "I guess a minute is a good place to start," he agreed, though he made no hurry to put the chain around his neck.

"I think a half turn of the inner ring should do the trick," Hermione said with a grin, seeing Max still looking nervous. "I'm willing to try it out first if you aren't brave enough."

"I'll go!" Max insisted in a huff. "Sorry I wasn't moving at a Hermione-approved speed." He quickly put the time turner around his neck, before giving the inner ring a half-turn forward.

Hermione and Adrian watched as he let the ring go before he disappeared from his spot. Hermione made a note of the time on the massive clock in the middle of the library. When she looked up, Adrian was smirking at her. "What?"

"You don't have to be so hard on him, just because you are annoyed that he might steal some of the limelight from you," he said, having caught on to what got under her skin.

"I just...like being recognized," Hermione insisted. "But you are right. It isn't good to have us fighting during a time like this."

Before they could talk much more, Max was rematerializing in his seat. "Did it work?" he asked, hopefully.

"Yes," Adrian agreed. "You were gone for exactly a minute, so there doesn't seem to be any time distortion. But those could also be exacerbated at longer time stretches."

"Did it feel any different from a normal time turning experience?" Hermione asked, determined to be nicer to the younger wizard.

"No, it was exactly the same," he said. "I guess I've been a little bit silly being so cautious, haven't I? Well, should I go for five minutes this time?" he asked, his mood improving immensely from the positive results of their testing.

"Great idea," Adrian said. "We'll keep an eye on the clock."

"And try to keep your hands off of one another," Max chided them, obviously imagining that they would be all over each other the moment that they were left alone with one another.

Hermione blushed furiously. The thought of a quick snog had crossed her mind while they waited. "Just go, Max," she insisted, wanting the awkwardness to dissipate as quickly as possible.

When he was gone, Hermione and Adrian did avoid snogging and instead passed the time glancing at the clock nervously. They counted down the seconds until he was back in his chair. The five minutes seemed like an eternity to the pair, wondering if they had just seriously hurt the other wizard with unproven magic.

But, at the appointed time, Max did wink back into his chair, five minutes from when he left. With his confidence growing, they spent the rest of the morning going on longer and longer trips forward, until he decided to go for a whole hour. It was nearing lunch time, so Hermione and Adrian told him they would head to lunch. Max agreed to wait in the library for them to return.

The couple walked to the Great Hall holding hands, before separating to go to their respective tables. Hermione gave Ginny an update on her date and the rest of her day, leaving out the details about their run in with Max. There was no need to involve any more people than there already were, as it could only complicate things. In the end, Hermione told Ginny that she was spending the day studying with Adrian in the library.

"I can't believe you found the only wizard who is as happy as you'd be to spend a weekend in the library," Ginny said affectionately with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, I don't think he will always be like this," Hermione said, finding Adrian across the room. "I think he's very devoted to his mastery. But, maybe later he won't want to spend all his time there."

"Oh, I'm sure he enjoys the scenery at least," Ginny teased.

A great flapping of wings signaled the owl post was arriving, and Hermione was equal parts excited and nervous to see that she had a letter from Harry and Ron. Reading over the letter, she was sure that Ron's portion had been heavily edited over the last two days. He was...terse, but congratulatory. Obviously, he was glad that she found a wizard that had suited her, but he just couldn't understand why he had to be a _Slytherin_.

Harry's portion was, as always, more verbose. He too was glad that Hermione had a new boyfriend, and he was eager to get to know Adrian a little bit better. He complimented the other wizard on his Quidditch playing (probably the only think Harry could remember about him). He included in the letter the Marauder's Map, with a note that it must be urgent for her to ask for twice in less than a week.

Biting her lip, Hermione wasn't sure if she would even learn anything about Max now that they knew his secret, but there was something that had her opening the parchment and whispering the password. She adjusted the map until she was focused on the library and found their table. Her heart stopped when she read the name.

Max _Pucey_.

All of the oddities about Max suddenly slipped into place with a jolt when she remembered the first word that Max had spoken when he showed up in the library that first night.

 _Mum_.

She was his mum, she thought, her heart lurching. And Pucey, that meant...

No wonder Max had been so keen to make sure that the two of them ended up together. It must have been distressing for him to see his _parents_ fighting so much. At least, she hoped it was. For a moment, she thought about running over to tell Adrian about it, but something was holding her back. She didn't want him to feel any pressure to continue on with their relationship. She couldn't trap him with destiny when things could very well change in the intervening years. Maybe they wouldn't actually end up together in the future.

Hermione knew that it was better to just see where things were going to go, naturally.

Closing up the map and putting it in her bag, she rejoined Adrian and they made their walk back to the library together. As expected, Max was waiting there at the table they had been using, brimming with hope.

"It worked! No time distortion this time either," he said, his cheeks flushed pink.

Now Hermione could understand why Max was so familiar to her. He obviously took after Adrian in his build, but he had the curl of her hair. She looked for other parts of her in his face, and she thought he might have her nose, too. Her son was handsome and smart and apparently incredibly reckless and sneaky. The perfect union of her and Adrian.

"I think I am going to jump forward to this evening," Max said brightly. "If it all goes as planned, I'm going directly to Headmistress McGonagall and going back to my time. It's time for me to be getting back, before I cause some sort of catastrophe."

"We'll miss you," Hermione said, her voice suddenly thick with emotion as she blinked back tears. She wouldn't want Max to figure out that she _knew_ and she didn't want Adrian to think that something was wrong.

"You know, I'll miss you too," Max said with a small smile. "But, I'm sure we will cross paths at sometime in the future," he added cryptically.

Adrian frowned. "Hey, now, don't start giving us hints as to the future," he chided the younger wizard. "If we see you again, we'll see you."

Max grinned at the pair of them, giving them one last look, before he threw the chain of the time turner around his neck. He grabbed the inner ring and began spinning. And then he was gone.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows! It's so hard to start saying goodbye as we get to the end. Just one more chapter after this guy. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of chapter twenty-one and be on the lookout for chapter twenty-two soon!

Max had been successful in returning to his proper time. At least, they thought he was. The Monday morning after he left, Hermione and Adrian did not see him in the Great Hall for breakfast. Approaching Headmistress McGonagall together, they asked where Max was. Their professor just gave them a knowing smile and said that he was on his way home.

Hermione hoped that he _had_ actually gotten home and wasn't in some time limbo caused by a miscalculation on her part. She would just have to live with the fact that she wouldn't find out for sure for a long time.

With Max out of their lives as quickly as he'd entered, Hermione was surprised at the speed with which the rest of the school year sped by. When she'd entered Hogwarts that year, she'd quickly been disillusioned with being back, bored and feeling out of place. Once she and Adrian started dating, though, she was annoyed with how quickly their remaining weeks living under the same castle went.

Adrian _was_ busy working on finishing up his apprenticeship, repairing the Hogwarts library. It did absorb a lot of his time, but Hermione wasn't too annoyed. She still spent the majority of her time in the library as well, buckling down in her revisions for the NEWTs.

After all of the kerfuffle with Max, Adrian had gently suggested that she might pursue becoming an Unspeakable if she enjoyed time magic so much. Obviously, she had already devoted a lot of time to it's study and she had the rough shapes of a thesis on forward time travel if it was something that she wanted to do. Hermione was surprised that she'd never even considered that before. But once he'd said it, she knew that it was what she wanted to do, even if it meant working for the Ministry of Magic.

Hermione had decided to apply to a couple of mastery programs, but was hoping to be accepted to a Charms mastery. That meant that she would need to get the best scores possible on her NEWTs. Adrian still liked to tell her that she'd get Outstandings in all of her selected courses even if she hadn't come back for her eighth year, but Hermione knew it was too important to leave to chance. After that, she would just have to hope that an invitation was offered for her to join the Unspeakables.

That wasn't to suggest that Hermione and Adrian spent all their time together in the library studying, though Hermione certainly didn't disabuse Ginny of the idea. They definitely found time in their busy schedules for each other, spending many nights snogging and more in Adrian's private apartments. By the end of the year, Hermione thought she had spent more time there than in her own dorm room. She really hoped that Adrian hadn't minded too much.

Adrian had also gotten over his resentment of the special treatment she received if it meant that they could spend many evenings together at the Three Broomsticks for a change of pace. Hermione loved snuggling up in one of the many hidden corners of the little pub, especially when it wasn't overrun with other Hogwarts students.

It was getting hard to imagine what it would be like when they both left Hogwarts and no longer were no longer in such close contact with one another. Would their passionate relationship fizzle out with the distance? Would her friends put unnecessary strain on the relationship? The unknown was enough to make her never want to leave.

She was glad that their unexpected relationship had lasted for as long as it had, but she was under no illusions that it would be easy out in the real world. There were no guarantees that they were meant to last. (If you didn't count Max, that is. And Hermione didn't count on Max because she didn't want to be boxed in by a destiny that might never come to pass.)

One day, in early June, when they were both sitting out under the shade of a large oak tree on the grounds, Hermione brought up her fears to her boyfriend. "I don't know how I'm going to stand not being able to see you whenever I'd like once we leave Hogwarts," she said, shocked by how forlorn she sounded.

"I don't think you'll be able to get rid of me if you wanted," Adrian teased, lifting up his head from her lap. His hair was just a little bit too long and she could see the tiniest hint of waves at the ends.

Hermione scoffed. "You'll be busy with your apprenticeship, learning to be a solicitor," she explained, feeling a lump begin to form in her throat. "I think they'll make you do all the hard work, hours of reading and annotating case law."

"That is true," Adrian said. Then his face suddenly went a bit serious. "It would be nice to know that I always had you waiting for me to come home to."

She smiled at the thought. It would be nice to share a bed with him every evening and snuggle up on Sunday mornings. They could get ready together every morning, maybe even sharing a shower now and again if they weren't too busy. Neither one of them was very good at cooking, but they liked to work together. Hermione pictured them living just down the street from a little pub that they could go get dinner from on occasions. "Wouldn't it be nice?" she asked with a sigh.

"It would be," he said with a nod. "But, I don't really see why it has to remain hypothetical?"

Hermione felt a little bit confused. "What do you mean?" she asked. "You'll be going back to your flat and I'll be going to Grimmauld Place." The prospect of moving in with Harry and Ron suddenly felt so rotten, imaging picking up after two exhausted aurors - them waking her up when they came home drunk on the weekends.

"Hermione," Adrian said with a shake of his head. "Salazar, I love you, but you can be so obtuse sometimes."

She was stunned by his casual declaration of love. Her heart stuttered in her chest when she looked at the wizard who was smirking at her, perhaps amused that he'd stunned her speachless for once in his life. "You move me?" she asked, hoping beyond hope that he would confirm it.

Pushing her back against the lush grass, Adrian loomed over her, his head blocking out the rays of the sun. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead, nose and both cheeks, before finally pressing his lips against hers. "Yes, witch, I love you," he repeated, softly.

Hermione wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, sighing in joy. "I love you, too," she revealed, unsure of how long she'd been holding that in, not wanting to share it with Adrian in case it scared him off of her. She kissed him again, immediately deepening it, wanting to feel the full weight of his body on top of hers.

Adrian groaned into her, enjoying the kiss for a few moments before he pulled back. "You didn't let me finish," he whispered.

She frowned, eyebrows furrowed. "Well, you better hurry up and finish, because I'm growing impatient," she told him, wanting to get back to their lovely snog.

"I was trying to ask you to move in with me after graduation," he said, looking into her eyes. "How would you like that? Live in my flat with me?"

The Gryffindor witch didn't think that it was possible for her to be anymore stunned than she already was. Adrian actually wanted to cohabitate with her? That lovely future that she'd just imagined could actually come true. Sitting up suddenly, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Of course I'd love to move in with you," she said. "But are you sure you want to live with me? What if my bad habits annoy you?"

Adrian laughed, a lovely sound. "Hermione, we've practically been living together the last couple of months anyway," he explained. "I think I've learned all of your annoying habits by now, and I promise that it won't run me off."

"Yes, but..." she trailed off, before furiously nibbling on her lower lip. She didn't want to talk him out of it, but she always didn't want him to get sick of her and kick her out at some future date. "But I could always go back to Gryffindor Tower if I was annoying you. A flat is much smaller than the castle and there will be no getting away from me."

He leaned in and pressed featherlight kisses on her bare neck. _Godric_ , he knew how much she loved when he did that, her nipples tightening under the soft cotton of her shirt. "It's a two bedroom flat, so we can designate the second bedroom as your hideaway that you can retreat to if you get too annoyed with me," he said.

"You don't annoy me-"

"It's okay, I know I've got annoying habits, too," he said. "In any case, I don't think we will ever stop arguing. It would be nice to have a little part of it be your own."

"An office I can work in," Hermione whispered, her mind quickly turning to mush as Adrian wound his fingers in her hair, positioning her just how he wanted her. If he was trying to seduce her into agreeing, it was certainly working.

"Say you'll move in with me, Hermione?" he nearly begged. "Otherwise, you might as well tell Weasley and Potter that I'll be over at yours every night."

The idea of _that_ made her giggle. "Of course I'll move in with you," Hermione agreed, her body arching to be closer to his. Merlin, if he didn't just touch her, she thought she might go mad with lust.

"I'm so glad you saw things my way," Adrian said with a smirk, his large hand coming up to cup her breast. He kissed her deeply then, as if he couldn't get enough of her. Each touch of his tongue sent a zing of pleasure running down her spine to her center. Her body felt like it was filled with molten lava and she squeezed her legs tightly together, hoping for some friction to ease the ache.

But then, he was stopping, pulling back from her. Hermione whined low in her throat. "Why are you stopping, Adrian?" she asked, never wanting him to stop. Eventually, she opened her eyes, her blown pupils quickly adjusting to the bright sunlight.

"You know, I was thinking there was one place in the castle that I'd really like to have you in before we leave," he said, his voice thick with lust. His long fingers trailed up and down the bare skin of her inner thigh. "And now that NEWTs and exams are over, I think it just might be empty enough for us to go unnoticed."

Hermione narrowed her eyes, wondering if he was really talking about the library. "Really, Adrian?" she asked with a snort, though she couldn't deny that the idea appealed to her. The library had been such a big part of her time at school.

"Well, believe it or not, I actually have _several_ fantasies inspired by arguments with you in the library," he revealed, his cheeks just going a little bit pink. "Even from before we were dating, if I'm honest."

She was thrilled to learn that little tidbit. "That sounds _very_ intriguing Pucey," she told him, standing up from her spot on the grass. "I expect that you tell me about all of them - in _detail_ \- at some point in the future if I agree to this."

He stood up as well. "I'd be happy to share," he said, grabbing her hand tightly in her's.

"Well, what are you waiting for then?" she questioned, putting on her best bossy disposition for him.  
"Are you going to take me to the library or not?"Eager to close that chapter of their lives together and start a new one after school, Adrian and Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon hidden away in the stacks of the Hogwarts' library.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows over the course of the story! Sigh, and now we have come to the end of the story! It's always so hard to say goodbye, especially to such a fun story like this. My next story will be a Tomione, and the first chapter in the next two or three weeks. The story is going to be a lot darker for sure, but if you are interested I would love for you to check it out. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of the story!

_Five Years Later_

Hermione could feel herself humming with excitement over her plan for the evening as she set the table in her and Adrian's new home. She had exciting news to share with her husband of three years, and she wasn't entirely sure how he was going to take it. She hoped that he wasn't too annoyed with her.

She pressed a hand to her rounded stomach, feeling the little flutter of a kick meeting her hand. She thought back to her last year in Hogwarts and couldn't believe that everything Max's presence had promised had come true.

It had been wonderful to actually move in with Adrian instead of Grimmauld Place if she was honest. They were so busy in their respective work that it was lovely to get to come home to each other at night. Adrian flourished in his apprenticeship and took brilliantly to the work of a solicitor, even if it did mean he had to put in a lot of hours. Hermione was always impressed with how hardworking her boyfriend was - sometimes it was _her_ who had to tell him to put down the work for the day.

Hermione had been accepted to a Charms mastery under world renowned Charms mistress Priscilla LePetit who agreed to put her on an accelerated track that would be completed in two years. Hermione had been utterly thrilled to be selected for such a prestigious mastery, and had been very busy herself.

She still made time for her friends, but she was horribly concerned about the state she had found Grimmauld Place in. Pizza boxes and chinese takeout containers everywhere, with dishes piled up in the sink. Yes, it was better she hadn't lived there because the mess would have driven her out of her mind! She wasn't Molly Weasley and she wasn't going to pick up after the boys or nag at them to do it themselves. It would have dissolved their friendship completely.

They had also spent a lot of time with Cassius Warrington, Marcus Flint and Graham Montague. The trio were Adrian's long time friends. Hermione had been a little intimidated by them at first, thinking that she wouldn't have anything with the Quidditch obsessed wizards. Marcus was the scariest of all seeing as he actually _played_ for a Quidditch squad. Adrian assured her that they would like her, and he was right. They did their best to make her laugh and feel welcomed, even if they teased the couple wondering who was the bossiest.

Hermione had even been convinced to join them for Quidditch matches over the years. Adrian would sit and patiently explain the rules to her, more focused on what the chasers were doing than the seeker, seeing as that had been the position he played. She found that when she wasn't worried about her best friend with a death wish hurtling full speed at the ground beneath him, she was actually able to relax and enjoy a game. She even owned a Falmouth kit, to Ron's amusement.

After a year of living together, it had quickly become clear to Hermione and Adrian how perfect they were for one another, and how deep their love was. Adrian proposed shortly after that, telling her that he couldn't imagine sharing his life with anyone but her. When she said yes, he whisked her off to Greece to celebrate their engagement.

They were married shortly after she finished her Charm's mastery after a year-long engagement. The wedding was small, but perfect with everyone of their friends and family in attendance. Hermione was pleased that her parents and Adrian's got along well enough to share the day, though she was sure they would never be true friends. The chasm between the muggle world and the wizarding world was too difficult to cross, even if the Puceys hadn't been supporters of Lord Voldemort.

To her delight, Hermione was offered a position as an Unspeakable developing time magic at the Ministry of Magic once she'd completed her mastery. She could share the news with her own husband, of course, but she told everyone else that she was going to be handling freelance curse breaking. No one questioned that, though she did have to help out friends and families occasionally with old family heirlooms they found and wanted cleansed. Harry consulted with her in some regularity in his work as an auror as well, though she never accepted his payments. She was, after all, still a Ministry employee, even if he didn't know that.

Adrian was made junior partner at his firm not long after that - something that they had celebrated heartily. It sounded as if he might make full partner in another few years, a career advancement track that rewarded all of his ambition and long nights. It also meant that he had more flexibility in his schedule, and they were able to have more time together.

It was around that time that they realised they were outgrowing Adrian's flat. They sold it and moved to a house instead. If Hermione was honest, it was much larger than she would have expected...almost like a mini manor, but after visiting the house that Adrian had grown up in, she could understand why he'd wanted it. It had more rooms than they could ever fill (she hoped) and a sprawling green lawn that would be perfect for pickup Quidditch matches, gardening, and lazy afternoons spent under the shade of the trees with Adrian.

They had been nearing their three year wedding anniversary when they decided that they wanted to expand their family. It _was_ a little younger than Hermione had expected to be having children, but she was already so well established in her career, doing a job that she loved. The timing just felt right. The couple was delighted that fate seemed to agree with them, and Hermione became pregnant not too long after she went off the potion.

The whole time that she'd been pregnant, she'd been adamant that it was a boy, though she didn't explain to Adrian why that was. He insisted that he would be happy if their child was a girl or a boy, so long as it was theirs.

Hermione had been thinking a long time about how she might bring up what she knew about Max, but she never knew how to approach it. Finally, she came up with a plan. The wizarding world did not have a spell created that could tell parents if their child was going to be a boy or a girl, so Hermione had started seeking prenatal care in the muggle world. She still planned on using a midwife who was a witch for the actual delivery, though.

She had excitedly told Adrian about the twenty week appointment, when muggles used sonogram technology to see a picture of the baby and that they could then reveal the gender of their child. Adrian didn't claim to understand all the words she was using, but of course he gave his support for her to go. He was especially excited to see the picture of their child weeks before it would be born.

Once Hermione had confirmation from the muggle doctor that she was indeed having a boy (not that she needed them to tell her that), she could only feel the nerves growing as the hours ticked down to when she would tell Adrian the truth. She busied herself with cooking a bolognese (one of the only reliable dishes she'd mastered) to keep her mind occupied while she waited for her husband to get back from work.

Dinner was on the table and waiting for him when he walked through the fireplace. Adrian dipped to press a kiss to his wife's lips, a hand caressing the swelling of their future child. "You are positively bursting with energy," he said with a grin. "I can only assume that means you were right."

"We _are_ having a boy," Hermione said with a proud grin. She pulled out the grainy black and white picture to show off the profile of their son's face.

"Is that really our baby?" he asked, obviously awestruck by the image, even if it didn't move like wizarding photos. "He looks so little."

"Well, he's not," Hermione said with a snort. "Apparently, he's already measuring a little bit large, so they think I might deliver a week or two before my due date."

"That's good to know," Adrian said. "I will make a note to start cutting back my schedule at work a bit earlier than expected then."

Hermione led him to the set table and they sat down to eat, but she couldn't even take a bite. "I was thinking we could get a little more serious about names now that we are sure the baby is a boy," she said, her spaghetti hanging on her fork halfway between her plate and her mouth.

"Oh? Did you have anything in mind?" he asked. "I just don't think I can stomach a Harry or a Ronald, sorry."

She wrinkled her nose. She loved the boys, of course, but she hadn't even considered naming a child after either of them. "I do have a suggestion, actually," she said firmly, feeling her heart beating in her throat. She was absolutely filled with anxiety. "What do you think of Max?"

Hermione watched as Adrian stilled, before setting down his fork. Looking up at her, his expression was rather bewildered, but she could already see the wheels turning in his brain. "You mean-" he cut himself short. "That was-?"

Biting her lip, Hermione nodded.

"How long have you known?" he asked. "And why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Harry _did_ send me the Marauders Map, right before Max returned to his own time. I just checked it...I don't know what made me do it. But I saw his name...Max Pucey. And, when he first got to the library, he called me _mum_ , remember?" she explained, stilted. This was not at all the elegant explanation she'd envisioned. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel trapped by the idea of some future that might never come to pass. I always thought that you might grow bored with me and I didn't want the idea of Max to hold you in something that you didn't really want."

"Oh, you stupid, stupid witch," Adrian said with a laugh. "How could I ever get bored of you?"

"Well, I know that _now_ , of course," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "But when we'd just graduated? Things were so new then, and we were entering the real world."

"I can't believe that _your_ son used a time turner and accidentally ended up in our time!" Adrian said with a laugh. "Oh, Salazar he is going to be in so much trouble...and he isn't even born yet!"

" _My_ son?" Hermione asked haughtily. "If you ask me, only a Slytherin could be such a troublemaker. It's clear that he got that trait from you."

"Who would be brave enough to go over two decades through time except a Gryffindor?" he asked.

"Ah, ah, ah Pucey," Hermione countered. "If you recall correctly, Max wore a Slytherin uniform and spent his time with the Slytherins. I think we can put that argument to rest."

Adrian knew that she had him there. Even if Max had some Gryffindor tendencies, he was still a Slytherin in actuality. "We will have to start looking for signs that he's made the jump when we get to seventh year," he said. "Because he is going to have a lot of explaining to do."

"At least we know he is still smart enough to figure out forward time travel," she said, a little bit proud of her future son's talents. "He did most of the work on his own without even looking at my notes."

"I don't mean that!" Adrian said. "I mean, why did he think getting Draco Malfoy to kiss you would make me jealous?"

"Well, Adrian you have to admit, it did work," she said. "And, really, I'm glad for it."

With the difficult conversation out of their way, the two excited parents were able to spend their evening talking about their past encounters with Max, trying to remember if they could suss any additional details about their lives out. Eventually, it switched to excitement about the arrival of their little mischievous son, who would definitely be named Max.


End file.
